


The Right Partner

by Whatevergirl



Series: I'm Not Alone [2]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Sentinels & Guides, F/M, M/M, Past Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, tiny!Steve
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-09-20
Packaged: 2020-05-19 21:35:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 59,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19364479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whatevergirl/pseuds/Whatevergirl
Summary: Steve was a guide who just wanted to be useful, more than he was. He fought for a chance to join the army, but he never expected the experiment to make him into a sentinel as well.While someone else gets to be the face of Captain America, Steve is content to take down Hydra.But when he wakes up in the future and finds himself bonded to the son of his old friend, things take an unexpected turn for him.The different stories exist in the same universe, but can be read separately





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> OPTIONAL NOTES :-)
> 
> Few notes about the way I'm setting this particular sentinel verse. It's in the story if you prefer to read it that way, but I'll put it here too in case you want to know what to expect going in.
> 
> Sentinels can have between one and five enhanced senses; in this, Bucky is a sentinel with enhanced touch, and eventually Steve has all five senses enhanced. Sentinels can dial up or down their senses, allowing them to either block a sensation out if needed, or focus more closely on it. They can also 'zone out', when they get too focussed on one sensation, so they lose track of everything as they get caught up in their own mind and need a guide to bring them back out of it.  
> Guides work more on the 'sixth sense' level of things, usually with high levels of empathy in an almost psychic way. There is some variation from one individual to another, but Steve can detect the emotions of other easily, and Tony go unnoticed by people when he wants to.
> 
>  
> 
> There are two types of bonds:
> 
> \- Surface bonds can form between sentinel and guide, or guide and guide. They allow a basic awareness of the other's emotions and are limited by distance. They can fade over time if the two lose contact and can be broken without pain. Sue and Johnny have a surface bond between them.  
> \- True Bonds are very rare, occurring in a very small number of pairings, and can only form between a sentinel and a guide. It is said they form when a pair's heart, soul and mind are perfectly compatible. They can form over time, but it typically forms quickly with skin contact. While it is theoretically possible to have more than one true bond, it is highly unlikely, and it is unknown if such a trio would be able to exist in harmony.  
> True bonds allow pairs to communicate on the spiritual plane, which they can visit in meditation and they can see each other's spirit animal both in the spiritual world and the physical one. If the bond is strong enough, they can develop telepathy between the pair.  
> True Bonds can cause pain when the pair spend time apart, but this can be trained so they can have the bond and distance between them. They don't fade over time, but they can be broken if one partner rejects the bond. When this happens, the broken bond leaves the other partner in great pain, which was likely once a defence mechanism to allow the first person to escape a bad pairing.
> 
> Spirit animals are there to aid a sentinel or guide, usually when they are meditating.

“I can feel ‘em crawling in my hair.” Bucky whispered, his eyes creasing in distress as his pale fingers reached up to scratch at his scalp.

Steve shook his head as he met his older friend’s gaze. “Don’t think about it.” He insisted, squirming on the spot as he resisted getting any closer; he had enough problems without his Ma shaving his head to get rid of any lice.

Bucky whined softly as he pulled his hands away and sat on them. “I can’t. I keep trying to count them but it hurts so much.”

“That’s because you’re bad at keeping yourself busy. Even your Ma says so.” Steve tried to smile but failed. He wrapped his hands around the tops of his arms as he stared at his friend. “S-so you need to listen to me instead and stop thinking about the pain.”

Bucky’s eyes lifted and he stared almost desperately at Steve. In his whole eight years and two months of life, Steve had dealt with agonising pain more than a handful of times and so he knew his friend needed a distraction. Unfortunately, Bucky had always been the best one to distract him from his own problems; well, unless you counted Steve’s Ma – her hugs were the best, with her strong arms over his back and her general smell and just the fact that she was there. But Steve wasn’t hugging Bucky when he had head lice, he could keep the little bugs to himself. 

“I made a new slingshot.” Steve admitted, a smile tweaking at his lips when Bucky turned his head to look at the other boy. “It’s not much good yet cos I haven’t got any leather for it, so I need you to keep an eye out for me. I know where to get some.” 

“You planning to follow the Porter home again?” He asked, his voice still tight as he knotted his hands together.

Steve shrugged and picked a small stone out the dirt. “I guess. I’m not real sure where else to get it.” 

“Tell you what, buddy…” Bucky started with a smug grin as he straightened up, “I will find some for you. Just gotta promise me you aren’t gonna go picking fights with this slingshot once you’ve made it or I’ll be in trouble with your ma.”

Steve giggled, his eyes wide as he imagined Bucky getting told off. “Ma’s not scary.”

The older boy prodded him in the forehead with a long finger. “That’s because you never get caught.” 

Steve laughed again but went back to picking through the dirt. Bucky was just over four years older than him, but they’d been friends for ages; Steve had been born a few months after Bucky’s sister, Joan, so their moms had always been around each other back then. Steve’s dad had died just before he was born, from some injury he’d gotten in the Great War; Steve wasn’t real sure what the injury was, but the sight of his ma crying was scary enough that he’d never asked more than that one time. 

After Joan had died last year, Bucky had taken to looking after Steve, especially when his ma was working at the hospital and wasn’t there to check he was eating. And honestly, the younger boy didn’t mind; he’d always been envious of Joan for having a big brother and while he missed her with an ache that sometimes made him worry his asthma was acting up, it was real good that he hadn’t been forgotten about. 

Not that Bucky totally agreed with the idea that friends were like siblings. He still had two brothers and often said he would rather Steve be his friend, but it didn’t change his friend’s caring nature, no matter what he said their friendship was.

“Want to go see if Mr Johnstone is back yet?” Steve asked as casually as he could, trying to hide how scary it was to see the blood under Bucky’s fingernails as he scratched at his head.

The other boy stopped to frown at him. “No.”

“Come on. It’ll be fun.” He wheedled, a grin forming on his face.

Bucky was shaking his head, but getting to his feet anyway. “It’s only fun until we get caught. Then he drags us to Father Peterson and I feel real bad.”

Steve laughed as he headed off to the street. “He doesn’t shout or use a cane.”

“He doesn’t need to.” Bucky grumbled as they headed over to the grocers. “He gives me this disappointed look and I kind of want to hide away and never do anything wrong again.” Steve could almost feel Bucky’s irritation in the air, with a chunk of humour that was hidden from his face. Steve had gotten good over the past few months at knowing what Bucky was feeing without him needing to say anything. 

“You just don’t like him because he gave me Last Rites in August.” The younger boy teased. He’d been real sick a year ago, and it had been in the previous summer that everyone thought he was done for. Father Peterson had prayed that he make a full recovery if it benefitted his salvation, and Steve had gotten better. His Ma said that he was going to grow up and do something wonderful, because he’d recovered from being so sick and now she and Bucky were wanting him to be a little cherub and follow all the rules. And Steve was trying, but the rules were boring, and surely calling bullies out was a good way to work towards salvation? He was pretty sure God didn’t like bullies either, Father Peterson was big on respect… that and loving your neighbour as yourself, but Steve was fairly certain he’d want someone to say something if he was bullying someone without noticing it so he was probably following that ideal too.

And Mr Johnstone? Well, his prices were too high and Steve only wanted an apple. That was probably fine too.

\------

“You can’t join.” Steve crossed his arms over his chest, gripping his sides tightly to try and stop his trembling. 

Bucky shook his head, his hands twisting in the uniform he was already wearing. “I’ve got my orders, Steve. I’m shipping out tomorrow with the 107th. And I got us dates for tonight.”

“Bucky, you can’t. You’re a sentinel with a guide, how did you get them to take you?” He asked in bitter confusion; sentinels were accepted if their guides joined with them and they would receive the same orders so they weren’t split up.

“I’ve only got enhanced touch, Steve. I told them I was stable.” Bucky stepped closer as his volume dropped. 

“You lied? You had a go at me and you lied too?” Which was utterly unfair. Bucky complained that Steve was lying on his forms all the time.

The dark haired man sighed. “Steve, I’m not going to zone out at any point; I’m really not that strong a sentinel and I’ve been in training for ages. They know I’m stable. And you can’t get in because you have a list of health problems.” Bucky clapped a hand to his shoulder and their bond, which was tightening painfully began to ease up with the contact. “You aren’t going to get in just because you said you’re from Manhattan instead of Brooklyn.”

“I’ll tell them you lied.” Steve said, his voice cracking as though he was still a fifteen rather than approaching twenty one. “They won’t let you in if you have a true bond and I can’t get in. They’ll either have to let me go too, or they’ll keep you back.”

Bucky was silent for a long moment, and Steve cringed to feel the disappointment along their bond. “Would you really do that to me?” He asked eventually, his tone soft but unhappy.

Steve was shaking his head before his friend had even finished asking. “I should.” He said, mouth twisting as he tried and failed to keep a neutral expression on his face. “I should tell them.”

Relief seeped through their bond as the sentinel understood what Steve wasn’t saying, almost painful in how strong it was; Bucky knew Steve could stop him shipping out and knew he was stubborn enough that he could talk himself into it. 

“I’ll come back. You know I will. And who knows, once you get food on a regular basis then maybe your health will improve too.” It was the silver lining Bucky had been pointing out since he’d decided to join the army; he would be getting fed every day, so he could send Steve his pay check and Steve would get to eat every day. With the extra energy that came from food, Steve could exercise more and his overall health would improve. The young guide wasn’t convinced that it would work, but it was too late now; Bucky was going and he didn’t want to ruin that hope. 

“You’d better come back.” He huffed and looked around. 

“I told you when I started basic training, I’ll be fine.” Bucky assured him, stepping close enough to nudge Steve with his shoulder.

“I know. But you weren’t training in England. You were training over here.” He explained, unhappy with the idea of his sentinel being so far away.

“Steve…”

“And training lasted so long… I kind of stopped thinking about it.” He shrugged. Bucky had been training for nearly nine months; his best friend had really enjoyed it but he hadn’t left New York yet. Now, Bucky was leaving the country to go fight… and possibly die. 

“I know. But this is good. Means I’m fully trained, I’ve got a smart uniform, better made than any of my other stuff.”

“I’m telling your Ma you said that.” He joked weakly, as Bucky’s Ma was a seamstress.

“Don’t you dare.” He replied, lips twitching as he spoke the words; Steve could very rarely resist a dare, but he wasn’t going to go talk to Mrs Barnes now. “My point is that I’ll be fine. I know that it’s a bit far, but unlike you and don’t argue me this, I am more than fit enough to go out and fight.”

“Bucky…” He sighed, unhappily.

“And it helps to know you’ll be safe over here.” He finished with a note that was difficult to argue.

“I’m not gonna stop trying.” He pointed out, before sighing and stepping back. “You said you’d found some girls?”

“Yeah, remember Debbie and Connie? Thought we could go see that show.” A wide grin spread over Bucky’s handsome face as he handed over a newspaper; ‘World Exposition of Tomorrow’ it announced in bold letters over a picture of a metal globe. “That Stark guy is showing off his new tech again.”

“Didn’t something blow up last year?” Steve asked as he kept pace with his sentinel. “I’m pretty sure I remember an explosion.”

Bucky laughed, settling back into his usual, relaxed state. “Yeah. There was stuff on fire, but I’m not real sure what he was trying to do.”

Steve smirked as he tried to recall. “Showing off to those dames at the front, I think. I remember a lot of winking cos I thought he had something in his eye.”

Bucky’s laugh barked through the cool, evening air as they headed home. The joy that flooded their bond from Bucky’s end wasn’t enough to eliminate Steve’s dread of being left behind, but he smiled for his friend anyway, not really wanting to hold him back.

But later on, Steve was more interested in looking at the uniform his friend was decked out, Bucky’s finest outfit and therefore what he’d chosen to wear for their double date. It was hard to hide the bitter envy that bubbled up inside him from their bond, but he wanted to be supportive of the other man before he headed out into danger without a guide.

Which was so painfully stupid that Steve felt like hitting his friend every time he thought about it. Steve wasn’t entirely sure what there would be out on the frontline, he knew the newspapers glossed over the truth about how bad things were; still, he hated the idea that Bucky would have something irritate him, like barbed wire or he’d be bitten by a rat, or knocked off his feet by a grenade, or shot and Steve wouldn’t be there to keep him focussed on staying safe. 

He dreaded having Bucky’s Ma knock on his door to say he’d gotten himself killed because Steve had been too pathetic to be allowed to go with him.

As Stark’s car banged loudly and dropped to the ground, Steve headed over to the recruitment centre. He scowled as he watched Dick Sanders dare Eddie Davis to sign up; they were both fourteen, but both taller than he was. Even if they lied on their forms about just their age, they’d probably get in; they were both stronger than Steve, their bodies filling out with muscles that he could only dream of.

“Come on, you’re kind of missing the point of a double date.” Bucky shoved his shoulder as he found his guide staring despondently at a poster. “We’re taking the girls dancing.”

Steve shoved his hands into his pockets. “You go ahead. I’ll catch up with you.” He said, as casually as he could.

Unfortunately, Bucky knew him too well. He paused, casting a disappointed look back at the younger man. “You really going to do this again?”

“Well, it’s a fair.” He shrugged, unable to looking into the expression on his friend’s face. “I’m gonna try my luck.”

“As who? Steve from Ohio?” Bucky’s anger lit up their bond, but Steve suddenly realised that it was hiding fear. “They’ll catch you; or worse, they’ll actually take you!”

“Look, I know you don’t think I can do this-” he began but Bucky cut across him.

“This isn’t a back alley, Steve. It’s war.” Bucky pointed out unnecessarily.

Steve scowled at that. “I know it’s a war. You don’t have to tell me-”

Bucky interrupted again. “Well, why are you so keen to fight? There are so many important jobs you could do.”

“What do you want me to do? Collect scrap metal in my little red wagon?” He questioned, annoyed that Bucky thought he’d be okay to stay here when his best friend was going off without him. If their roles were reversed, there was no way Bucky wouldn’t fight tooth and nail to be at his side. 

“Yes!” Bucky tried to stop him, not even trying to hide how he wanted Steve safe with the women and children. “Why not?”

“I’m not going to sit in a factory, Bucky. Come on.” He wasn’t some cowardly weakling who needed protecting. Sure he had asthma and got sick every winter, but it really wasn’t that big a deal; he could cope. “There are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. That’s what you don’t understand. This isn’t about me.”

“Right.” Bucky’s anger had gone, replaced by a misery that was almost worse. “Cos you got nothing to prove.”

Steve stared into his sentinel’s eyes for a long moment, trying to find his voice again; to explain that they’d been a team since he’d first laughed at Bucky slipping in the mud near Dyker Heights Park then called a truce on their play fight in favour of getting back before dark so his Ma didn’t smack his backside for breaking the rules again. He wanted to explain that he wasn’t sure how their bond would do, that they’d never actually been so far away from each other and the very idea was making his stomach churn. 

“Hey Sarge!” Bucky’s girl shouted, breaking the moment before Steve managed to say anything. “Are we going dancing?”

“Yes, we are.” He assured her, before turning back to his friend. They stared at each other a moment before the sentinel began to back away. “Don’t do anything stupid till I get back.”

“How can I?” he retorted almost managing a smile. “You’re taking all the stupid with you.”

“You’re a punk.” Bucky scoffed as he came back to pull his friend into a hug.

“Jerk.” Steve grumbled, but he pressed into the embrace, aware that Bucky was likely to end up petting his girl half the night and leave no time to say goodbye before he shipped out. “Be careful. Don’t win the war till I get there.”

Bucky turned back to give him a salute, but didn’t say anything until he reached the girls. Steve stared for a moment longer before heading back inside. He’d said he was going to try his luck, and he meant it. He bet loads of people skipped over the unimportant bits of medical history; they didn’t need to know he’d had a brother die of diabetes before he was born, or that he’d had yellow fever, because the doctor had said it had been a mild case. He debated saying his asthma had been a childhood problem, but they’d be able to figure that out pretty quick. 

Lying on his forms didn’t even strike Steve as a bad idea until the doctor in the room with him was called away by a nurse, and his eyes couldn’t help focussing on the warning sign about lying on the enlistment form. Forcing a shudder away, he began to tug his shoes back on. 

An MP stepped into the room, looking slightly bored as he waited for a moment. He was quickly followed by an older man, a slight smile quirking the sides of his mouth as he dismissed the MP and watched Steve for a moment.

“So, you want to go overseas, kill some Nazis?” The man asked in a German accent, opening the thin files in his hands. 

“Excuse me?” Steve shifted uncomfortably, this wasn’t the usual ‘Your asthma means no’ that he always got.

“Doctor Abraham Erskine.” The man introduced himself, looking Steve in the eyes as he spoke and Steve stood up the shake the outstretched hand, unable to stop himself relaxing in response to him. “I represent the Strategic Scientific Reserve.”

“Steve Rogers.” He replied, unsure if he was allowed to ask what the Strategic Scientific Reserve was, or if there was anything else he was supposed to say. “Where are you from?” He asked, wondering if the man would tell him.

“Queens.” Erskine replied, and despite is serious face, Steve could see the amusement dancing in his eyes. “73rd Street and Utopia Parkway. Before that, Germany… This troubles you?”

Steve shook his head. “No.” He replied honestly. He was finding he quite liked this doctor, more so than the others he’d encountered recently. 

“Where are you from, Mr Rogers? Hm? Is it New Haven? Or Paramus?” Steve froze, unsure if he was supposed to answer, or if this was an elaborate set up to him getting arrested. “Five exams in five different cities.”

“That might not be the right file.” He said quickly, hoping he didn’t get himself arrested before Bucky had even left for England. 

“No. It’s not the exams I’m interested in.” Dr Erskine assured in a warm voice that called for Steve’s trust. “It’s the five tries… But you didn’t answer my question. Do you want to kill Nazis?”

There was something odd about the way he asked. “Is this a test?” He inquired.

“Yes.”

For a moment, Steve wondered what the right answer was. Say yes, like some kind of hero? Say no like a coward or sympathiser? But looking into Dr Erskine’s face, Steve decided to just go for honesty. 

“I don’t want to kill anyone.” It probably wasn’t the answer they were looking for with a war on, but it was true; even so, he tried to explain himself. “I don’t like bullies. I don’t care where they’re from.”

Steve felt warmed to the core with the look in Dr Erskine’s eyes. “Well, there are already so many big men fighting this war. Maybe what we need now is the little guy, huh?”

Steve held still, unsure what to say. It seemed crazy to think he might get to do something useful. 

“I can offer you a chance.” Erskine explained, which felt easier to take than if he’d simply been given marching orders. “Only a chance.”

“I’ll take it.” He assured the doctor quickly, grabbing his coat as he followed him.

“Good. So where is the little guy from, actually?” Erskine asked as he began looking through the stamps.

“Brooklyn.” Steve replied, a smile working its way onto his face as Doctor Erskine pressed the stamp onto the inkpad and then onto his form.

Erskine handed him his file. “Congratulations, soldier.” Then he walked away as Steve gazed down at the new stamp.

He forced himself to breathe as he realised that he’d finally done it. He’d joined the army. He’d be able to do something useful.

He kind of wanted to go tell Bucky, but the low thrum of arousal he could feel along their bond let him know that his friend wouldn’t really care at this moment in time. He wasn’t exactly sure what the Strategic Scientific Reserve was, or if they would ever see the front lines, which didn’t seem implied in the name, but maybe they’d come across the 107th at some point.

He grinned again as he realised Camp Lehigh was in New Jersey, already able to imagine Bucky’s complaints at that. He was one step closer to helping in the war.

\------

Steve stared nervously around him as he shifted the uniform pants up again; he’d had to poke an extra hole in the belt to keep them up at all, but it was worth it to actually wear the outfit. 

He was finally in training to be a soldier. 

Dr Erskine smiled over at him as he made his way over to the desk that had been set up outside for him. 

“Steven.” The man welcomed warmly. “You look the part.”

Steve sighed. “I look like a kid playin’ dress up with his father’s clothes.” He was more than aware of how small he was, but it hadn’t bothered him until he found himself swimming in a uniform. 

“You will eat and exercise every day.” Erskine shrugged, unconcerned. “You will grow.”

“So you and Bucky say.” He muttered with a sigh, but didn’t complain when the man laid a comforting hand on his soldier. 

“You are still young. You will grow.” He repeated, and Steve gave him a slight smile.

“I hope so.” Then he hesitated slightly, a question coming to mind that he wasn’t sure if he should ask. “Can I… if it’s okay to ask, why is Colonel Philips angry with me? I only spoke to him the once and I didn’t give a smart answer back.”

Erskine sighed and straightened up. “It is nothing personal.” He explained as he turned to watch the one of the groups jogging together towards the obstacle course. “You simply do not match his idea of a soldier.”

Steve thought of the extra hole in his belt. “No, I guess not.” He would probably be even further from his ideal soldier if he knew that Steve was part of a true bond who had let his sentinel leave without him; the need to see Bucky again had been a constant ache since the man had left New York, the pain of it sometimes making him chuck up his dinner when he let himself think about the gaping hole the older guy had left, how he was fairly sure his friend was alive, but couldn’t feel any of his emotions. 

“However,” Erskine continued, his voice warmer as he interrupted Steve’s musing, “you are here because I think you are who we need.”

“I don’t understand.” He grumbled with a frown, unable to see how a skinny kid with a list of health problems was what they needed.

“No. Not yet.” The man agreed, but he must have seen something in Steve’s face because he sighed again. “I will say this. You know Mr Hodge?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah.” Hodge was the man that Agent Carter had only had to punch once to leave Steve half smitten with her. 

“He is Colonel Philips' choice of soldier.” Erskine shook his head slightly. “He is popular, strong, confident… He is a bully.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“But you? You are not the centre of attention, you can slip into a room unnoticed. You pay attention to everything around you and you have compassion. You are a good man.”

Steve couldn’t help the blush that spread over his cheeks; he wasn’t used to praise. “Thank you.” He looked up at the older man, and gave him a soft smile. “I think you’re a good man too.”

“Me?” Erskine looked slightly startled at that. “This is me trying to make up for too many mistakes, some of them so large that…” He cut himself off, shaking his head. “No. I was a foolish coward and now I work to correct that mistake.”

“And that makes you a good man.” Steve insisted quietly as a loud whistle rang through the camp.

“Thank you, Steven.” Erskine patted his shoulder. “But you must go.”

It was time for their morning run. Steve resisted the urge to pull a face as he turned and headed over to stand in line.

\------

Steve sighed as he stared at the pages of his book, not taking any of them in. He was beyond exhausted.

While Bucky had been right to say his health would improve with regular meals and exercise, he probably hadn’t anticipated the basic training camp. This particular camp had combined the Basic and Individual Training, the Small Unit Training and the Combined Arms Training into one condensed unit; four long months of very hard work and everybody was exhausted. 

As he dropped back onto his mattress, eyes sliding shut, the young guide tried to recall the cool air of the early spring, when he’d worn a coat to keep back the chill as he’d watched Howard Stark’s show then headed over to the recruitment centre. With his clothing sticking to his skin with sweat, it was hard to remember being that cool. 

They were right at the end though, nearly through the training and one of them would be chosen to be this new super soldier. Steve knew this was the chance that Erskine had told him about, but it was hard to worry about when he was just so tired all the time. 

“Sleeping already?” Erskine’s warm voice jolted Steve’s eyes open and he looked around, surprised to find the room empty.

“I didn’t think so. Where is everyone?” The sun hadn’t quite set yet, so he couldn’t have been here more than an hour.

“Outside.” The man looked fairly happy as he settled down on Baker’s bed, his knees nearly touching Steve’s. “There is a cool breeze and cards so…” He shrugged.

“I was going to read my book, but thought I’d just shut my eyes for a minute.” He explained, shifting to sit comfortably.

“That I understand.” Erskine grinned at him. “But, you have improved a great deal since you first arrived.”

“You don’t seem too surprised.” Steve noted, curiously.

Erskine shook his head. “I cannot say that I am. While I was never in a position of scrapping by to survive, I have encountered many who were. Eating enough daily makes a very big difference, not just to your body but to your mind as well.”

Steve huffed slightly, unable to fully disagree. “My body and my mind are more exhausted now than ever before.” He grouched light heartedly. 

“Well, you did join an army.” Erskine shrugged at him, making Steve laugh. He did enjoy it when Erskine found the time to come and chat; he was the closest thing to a friend Steve currently had, similar to the big brother role Bucky had once played.

“It’s my own fault.” Steve groaned with a grin, as Erskine chuckled.

“Indeed.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a khaki canvas wallet. “Now, shall we play?”

“Yes please.” Steve grinned and tugged over the side table as Erskine took out the thin, bright red dominoes and laid them out flat. He was awful at playing cards with the other men because they could always tell when he was lying, but he enjoyed playing dominoes in the quiet with a man who had looked at him and seen something more than anyone else ever did.

Another week and he’d know where he was going next, but for now he was happy enough here.

\------

The ride through Brooklyn was stranger than Steve had ever imagined. He gazed out the windows as familiar streets and alleys raced passed him, and he couldn’t help but point out these places to Agent Peggy Carter. She was as beautiful as ever, and having her attention on him made him all sorts of nervous; apparently, that made him babble like an idiot for far longer than he wanted to.

They stepped into an antique shop that Steve had been in several times, because they had reasonable stuff and the woman who ran it was always willing to haggle enough that he could get what he needed. As he watched her apparently exchange code phrases with Peggy, Steve repeated to himself what Erskine had told him; good becomes great and he was a good man rather than a perfect solider. It had to be enough… 

He tried not to think about the possibility of having his worst traits increased; take his inability to talk to women, the way he’d always felt useless, the stubborn nature… What if they increased too?

As they stepped through a bookcase he’d stared at before and through the corridors he’d never guessed existed, Steve focussed on breathing. His asthma had become less of an issue recently, but his chest was tight in that old, familiar way as they stepped out to look down at what looked like a bizarre operation theatre. The mutterings from below stopped as everyone stared up at him, and Steve looked away from Erskine, looking a little strange in a lab coat and up to Peggy Carter, who sighed slightly and led him down the stairs.

“Good morning.” Erskine greeted him, the usual half smile on his lips. Though, whatever he was going to say next was interrupted by a camera clicking. “Please, not now.”

Steve looked around for a moment, trying to say something but he was honestly terrified and only just keeping it hidden. 

“Are you ready?” Erskine asked, and Steve nodded his head silently. “Good. Take off your shirt, your tie and your hat.”

He quickly began to strip, mouthing his thanks to the person who took them off him, still unable to find his voice. 

“Socks and shoes too.” Someone said, and Steve took the chance to crouch down and breathe without everyone staring. It kind of helped.

He just had to get through this. Just this, and then he could go be useful.

“If you’ll lie down for me.” Erskine gestured to the large, metal machine before turning to mutter softly to one of the women. “Comfortable?”

“It’s a little big.” Steve managed to say as he focussed on taking steady breaths. “You save me any of that Schnapps?” He wondered, remembering the drink they’d nearly had the night before, like he’d used to have with Bucky so long ago; the chance to chat with a friend while the alcohol helped him relax.

“Not as much as I should have. Sorry. Next time.” But Erskine’s inability to keep a smile on his face let Steve know they were starting soon.

He tried to think of something to say, to keep the man talking in a comforting way about what they would do after this, but the fear was beginning to crush his chest again and he simply looked up at the roof.

“Mr Stark? How are your levels?” Erskine asked, as he must have realised Steve had nothing else to say.

“Levels at one hundred percent.” A confident voice called out, and Steve glanced up to see the inventor guy who did a show in New York once a year step into his line of vision. 

“Good.” Erskine replied, as Steve thought about the last time he had seen Stark, and how he and Bucky had joked about explosions. He really, really hoped there were none of those this time.

“We may dim half the lights in Brooklyn but we are ready as we’ll ever be.” It was unnerving having a stranger look him up and down like that, especially when it wasn’t a doctor; but Stark’s eyes quickly moved onto the actual machine, as though double checking everything was where it should be.

Steve really hoped everything was where it should be.

As Erskine prompted Peggy Carter to go somewhere else, Steve focussed on not panicking. Getting strapped down made that kind of difficult.

“Do you hear me, is this on?” Erskine spoke into a microphone to amplify his voice for the people in the observation booth. Steve began counting his breaths. “Ladies and gentlemen, today we take not another step towards annihilation, but the first step on the path to peace.”

Seven, Eight, Nine… The nurse was moving bits on the machine to come rest on his chest… Eleven, Twelve…

“We begin with a series of microinjections into the subject’s major muscle groups. The serum infusion will cause immediate cellular change.”

Steve honestly wished he could switch off his hearing like some sentinels could; he didn’t want to hear this…

“And then, to stimulate growth, the subject will be saturated in Vita Rays.”

As Erskine put down the microphone and headed over as the nurse gave him a shot. “That wasn’t so bad.” Steve informed him in what he hoped was a positive tone; it was no worse than any other shot he’d had in his twenty one years of life. 

“That was penicillin.” Erskine said softly, but having him standing there was actually kind of comforting now that he’d stopped addressing all the people watching. Erskine looked off to the side again, but stayed where he was. “Serum infusion beginning in five… four…” Something else from the machine touched his arms, and Steve was pretty sure he was shaking. “Three…” Erskine reached a gentle hand out to rest on Steve’s chest in a comforting touch. “Two… One…” 

The serum burned as it went in and Steve clenched his teeth to avoid yelling. It hurt. It hurt a lot. He couldn’t feel Erskine’s hand anymore, but he wasn’t sure if it was because the doctor had moved away or… Steve’s eyes shot open as he realised the pain was gone, but he also couldn’t feel much of anything else.

Then the bench he was lying on lifted up and the chamber closed around him. He let out a shaky breath as he waited for the next bit to start, but jumped as someone tapped on the metal and his ability to feel everything suddenly came rushing back.

“Steven? Can you hear me?” Steve stared blankly at the metal in front of him, unable to lift his gaze to the little window above him, but Erskine’s voice was still a comfort. As the words sunk in, Steve noticed the hesitance in his tone, likely because he was a good man… Just like Steve wanted to be. A good man, able to help save the people from the Axis Powers. To help people like Bucky and the soldiers, Peggy and the Allies in Europe, Erskine and the good people who were unable to escape Hitler… He wanted life to go on…

“It’s probably too late to go to the bathroom, right?” Steve asked, trying to reassure the doctor without actually saying anything so obvious.

“We will proceed.” Erskine said as Steve heard him step away.

For a time, Steve could hear Stark count up the percentages as his whole body began to burn. The scream that erupted in Steve’s throat was unavoidable. The whole machine seemed to have him clenched in place tighter than a loose scrap caught in the clogs of the machines in the downtown factories; he couldn’t move, couldn’t even wriggle without the vice-like grip crushing him. But the scream didn’t actually work its way passed the knot in his throat until the light inside the machine burnt his eyes and his blood turned to fire in his veins. It was worse than any illness he’d ever had, worse than any asthma attack multiplied. Everything was amplified; he could smell the metal around him; he could almost taste the metallic texture on his tongue; he could overly aware of the fabric pressing against his legs, of every point where his skin touched the table; he didn’t dare open his eyes, but could easily pick out Peggy Carter’s voice, her tone commanding as she shouted for them to shut the machine off.

“Kill the reactor, Mr Stark.” Erskine called out, his voice noticeably panicked too. “Turn it off! Kill it! Kill the reactors!”

“No! Don’t!” He yelled, forcing the words to form clearly in his mouth. “I can do this!” 

“Eighty, ninety… that’s one hundred percent!” Stark called out, as Steve forced himself to keep quiet; he wasn’t going to help anyone if they stopped this experiment before it was finished. 

Steve felt the machine release him and he stumbled out. 

“He’s barely any bigger.” Someone said, their tone disappointed but the volume was too much. 

“He’s definitely got muscles now.” Someone else said, but they were even louder.

Steve dropped to his knees and wailed as the pain began to build back up again, gripping as much of his face and ears as he could whilst curling in on himself.

“Steven?” Erskine’s voice was a comfort to hear and Steve latched onto the man’s presence. 

“Hurts.” He gasped in an attempt to explain himself. “E-Ev-Ev…. Every- everything hurts.” He was shaking with the pain, but couldn’t seem to stop as the language skills evaded him. “It’s t-too much. Loud…” He couldn’t force enough control over his own body to explain what was going on.

“What do you mean?” Erskine didn’t touch him, which was a relief and even the press of the air from the gathering crowd felt crushing, but the scientist was warm beside him. “From the machine? Is it fading or is this an overwhelming sensation? Senses in overdrive?”

“I know I hypothesised that this could make someone a sentinel, but damn…” Stark’s voice was almost breathless but Steve only whined in response. “And on that note, a feral super soldier is not something we need to deal with so let's jus-”

Steve heard the bullet pierce the air but couldn’t make his trembling limbs move in time. Erskine’s body dropped to the floor and the young soldier crawled up to look into his eyes. As everyone seemed to explode to life behind him, Steve focussed on his friend.

“Steven…” he rasped, lifting a weak hand to point to the younger man’s heart. Steve understood the message, but pain reared up inside him as the scientist’s hand fell and his life left his eyes.

Steve snarled as his eyes lifted to meet those of the fleeing man. He only caught a glimpse, but it was enough; the burning in his veins roared again as he pelted up the stairs, giving chase far more effectively than he ever had before. He noticed obstacles before they became an issue, his eyes and ears working to take in more of the world than he ever had before. 

He dodged passed Peggy Carter, ignoring her shout as his bare feet slapped against the pavement. His anger gave him a single minded focus to chase the murderer down, so much so that Steve didn’t even consider his ability to catch up with the car to be odd, or how his lungs continued without strain. He climbed over moving vehicles in movements he would have never even considered before, and didn’t try to think about now. The soldier didn’t even pause until the man had grabbed a boy as his hostage and Steve’s own mind returned to him enough that his tactics changed. 

“No! My son!” a woman sobbed behind him as he crouched behind some large pipelines and listened carefully. “No! Don’t hurt him! No!”

Steve didn’t acknowledge her, his mind still too frenzied to form words, but he knew he would risk a child if he just ran in there. He slowed down and stepped carefully out into view, his hands held up before him, trying to make soothing noises when he still couldn’t form words. Thankfully, the man had run out of ammo when he switched targets to shoot Steve instead, and he threw the boy into the water before running again.

Steve stopped on the edge, but the boy was swimming over to a ladder already.

Taking chase again, Steve threw himself after the odd water vehicle trusting the changes that Erskine had told him about in his quest to stop the man from escaping. It really wasn’t fast and Steve had little trouble pulling him out and throwing him back onto dry land.

He snarled viciously at the man, who apparently understood his unspoken question.

“I am the first of many.” He boasted. “Cut off one head, two more shall take its place. Hail Hydra.” 

And Steve couldn’t help the roar of anger as the man foamed at the mouth and died. He shook the body a few more times before dropping to his knees and huddling up, unable to decide what to do now.

It seemed like very little time before someone else had found him. “Come on, buddy.” The guy murmured, and the gentle words were soothing enough for Steve to uncurl. A warm hand rested on his wet head, and they both gasped as Steve’s awareness of the world wrapped around the speaker.

He looked up into the perplexed face of Howard Stark. “What?” He croaked, but coughed before he could get any other words out.

“We…” Stark dropped to his knees on the sidewalk and looked into Steve’s face. “I can feel you in my head.” His voice was soft, awed and there was a smile beginning to spread. “I’ve read about true bonds but this is… Wow.”

Steve watched him marvel at the idea for a moment, before Bucky came to mind. Stark’s whole body jumped at the panic that ripped through Steve. What would this do to his bond with Bucky? He couldn’t even discuss it with anyone because they all thought that he had been mundane, and he wasn’t going to say anything that might get Bucky in serious trouble. 

“Maybe we should head back.” Stark suggested as he stood up and held a hand out to Steve.

Steve nodded and allowed himself to be pulled up as he pushed his worries off to the side; he still had a bond with Bucky, now the initial panic was ebbing away, he could still tell his sentinel was alive… and now Steve was a sentinel as well… He staggered to the side as his mind struggled with that notion, and Stark grabbed his arm to keep him upright. Steve now had a true bond with Bucky, but also one with Howard Stark, which was a little awkward as he had still only managed to get one word out to the other man.

He hadn’t even known Stark was a guide! He frowned, trying to remember if it had ever been mentioned in the newspaper articles he’d read about the guy; he’d been called a genius often enough, an inventor and a Casanova, but guide? He didn’t recall that one.

“Let’s get you a cup of joe and some clothes.” Stark’s tone was soothing, and Steve allowed himself to be tugged along. “Running around Brooklyn in wet pants is a terrible idea.”

He wanted to ask if he’d be allowed to go fight now, thoughts of joining the 107th drifting half formed through his mind, but moving his mouth and making coherent sounds seemed like a lot of effort. Instead, he focussed on not falling over as Stark dragged him back to everyone else.

However, once they were back at the camp, Steve dressed in dry clothing with Stark sat close enough that they were touching, the new sentinel realised he likely wasn’t going to get his wish without Erskine to fight for him. 

“You’re not exactly a symbol of hope.” Colonel Philips sighed with a curl of his lip. “And one of you isn’t the army I was promised.”

“Let them pick some other guy to dress up as a dancing monkey. Say I got bigger overnight or something.” Steve objected. “I’m small, but I’m fast and strong and my senses are off the scale. They can take my blood and study it all they like but let me do something useful.”

“The scientists can keep you.” Philips scowled at him, the bitter disappointment evident in his eyes.

“They can study my blood without me being there.” He objected, already hating where this was going. He was awful at sitting still and doing nothing.

“I suppose we could use someone else.” The senator murmured quietly on the other side of the room, but more than loudly enough for Steve’s enhanced ears to pick up.

“I don’t care what happens to you now. Not my problem anymore.” Philips said, before turning around and leaving. 

Stark must have felt him shrink down because he nudged him with his shoulder. “Give it time. They’d be mad to leave a super soldier in a lab.”

“You may need to tell someone that. They don’t seem to notice anything I say.” His tone was bitter, but Stark just sighed, unable to refute the truth.

The door opened again, and another man in a suit stepped inside.

He approached them, his eyes on the papers in his hand. “Mr Rogers, you are going to-”

“Captain Rogers.” Stark interrupted, and Steve could feel his guide’s building frustration at the situation.

“I… What?”

“Captain. He received a promotion for agreeing to this experiment.” Stark replied, his casual tone at odds with the anger that was brewing inside him.

“Yes. Captain then. Captain Rogers, you are to report here at 0900 tomorrow morning, where you will be taken to a separate facility. There you will receive testing to see the extent of your sentinel abilities.”

“W-With the aim to join the soldiers eventually?” He forced himself to ask, unable to believe it had only been that morning that he’d been fumbling through a conversation in the car with Agent Carter.

“No. You are Mr Stark’s sentinel and he is far more useful than one super soldier. You aren’t going anywhere that may get you shot and leave him compromised.” The man replied, looking utterly disinterested in what was going on. 

Steve scowled at his hands as they tightened on his knees. Useless… He’d felt useless for so much of his life and now he had officials telling him that he was indeed little more than a problem that needed to be tucked away from everything important. 

“Hey.” Stark whispered to him, pressing their shoulders together again. “Let the doctors have their fun and if you aren’t out in a few months then I’ll come spring you.”

“I can do that.” Steve replied even though he wasn’t sure. He barely even knew Stark, and instead of getting time to spend time together and develop their bond, he was getting locked away while the inventor got to go off and help the war effort. It felt wrong.

“Just give it a little bit of time.” Stark reiterated quietly as Steve nodded.

\------

“But when can I go do something?” Steve asked, his voice growling in irritation as the doctor gazed at the notes he’d been handed. “I joined the army for a reason and now I haven’t even b-been outside for a month.”

The man didn’t even glance up as he replied. “Rogers, you are going to be here until we figure out how to make more super-soldiers. As a test subject, you were an acceptable candidate, but we need a troop of capable soldiers. That means, we need you here.”

The half feral snarl that erupted from him wasn’t faked at all and it made the doctor jump. He finally lifted his eyes to stare at Steve, before backing slowly away. 

“I’m not the one making these decisions.” He was quick to explain. “I’m simply following orders, same as you.”

Steve glared at him, unable to push any words passed the furious lump in his throat. He’d absolutely had enough of being inside, of being little more than a science experiment that would never see a frontline if the scientists and doctors had their way.

“B-but I can ask Colonel Philips if he minds you travelling with Captain Cooper. He’s got a handful of soldiers who travel with him to keep the showgirls safe, to keep their morale up. I’m sure no one will care if you travel with them. There is a big note in your file about keeping you safe for Stark’s sake, but Cooper hasn’t ever had any real trouble.”

Would that work? Steve relaxed slightly at the idea of fresh air; he’d been in this facility for weeks and he felt like he was going insane with them prodding at him constantly. He kept zoning out as he had no guide to settle him and it felt like the rest of the time he was half feral, beyond frustrated and desperate to be somewhere else. Any time he had control over what he was doing, Steve tried to meditate.

For the most part, this was a good idea. He hadn’t gone fully feral in more than two weeks; however, the problem was that he was losing what weight he had managed to put on in the training camp. 

“Maybe the exercise will help… and regular rations rather than the porridge that you’ve been getting.”

The doctors weren’t sure if this was a result of the serum itself and he was always going to have to eat more, or if the changes to his body were demanding a lot of energy and so he needed to eat more until he settled down; but either way, he wasn’t getting enough to eat. The muscles Erskine and Stark had given him were still there, but he wasn’t even allowed to stretch them; all they wanted to test were his sentinel abilities; how far could he see, how detailed; could he hear heartbeats, could he make out whispers from far away; could he distinguish a particular person’s scent through a room; could he taste poison in his food; could he feel the shifting air with his other senses blocked off? 

It would have been interesting, he supposed, if he wasn’t the test subject. However, having someone add a few drops of mild poison to his already bland slop was not appreciated, nor was the fact that he’d been unable to swallow more than one mouthful before he’d started gagging and chucking up.

Still, trailing around with Captain Cooper, or Captain America as the bond companies liked to call him, had to be better than being constantly subject to the curiosity of scientists. He’d get to be outside and he could have a conversation with someone who wasn’t after particular information; honestly, Steve never thought he’d miss small talk. 

He nodded his head, still unable to speak even though the anger and frustration that had been surging through him were dialling back down. 

As he sat with his head down breathing carefully, a nurse came in to take his blood. He hated to scare anyone at all, especially a young dame like that, but he snarled at her, lip curling as she jolted him back out of his daydream, where he’d been anywhere else. 

“We’ll do that later.” The doctor assured her in a calm tone as he quickly herded her back out. “I’m just going to send him back to his room for now.”

That was annoying because he wanted to go to the gym, but he couldn’t settle himself enough to say a word in objection. 

\------

“Is it weird if I say I’m really pleased to meet you?” Captain Cooper asked, his wide brown eyes making him look about as dangerous as a toothless puppy. “I can’t believe I get to meet you.”

“Me?” Steve raised his brow as he hunched over his bowl, genuinely confused.

“Yes you.” Cooper smiled, sitting beside him on the bench. “The real Captain America.”

Steve couldn’t help snorting at that. “You’re Captain America, not me.” He’d only seen one show so far, but it had been enough; Steve was almost glad he’d spent just five and a half weeks in a lab rather than dancing on the stage. 

“In looks, but he’s really you. Have you read any of the comics?” Surprised, Steve met the earnest gaze.

“Comics?” Steve enjoyed comics, but all he’d read since the experiment were the H G Wells books that Stark had left for him.

Cooper nodded as he relaxed. “Yeah. There’s only been one so far, about Captain America getting super powers from a machine powered by a jewel that came to Earth when a small comet crashed in the jungle.”

“Oh.” That actually sounded like the kind of thing he’d enjoy reading. “Dr Erskine gave me an injection of some kind and the Stark used a machine, but I’m not sure what was actually happening.”

“Wow.” Cooper whispered, his jaw hanging. “So you actually do have super powers?”

“I’m a sentinel.” He said, though he didn’t explain that he hadn’t always been. “But it got rid of my asthma and stuff, and I’m stronger now than I ever was.”

“Is it weird? Having me pretend to be you?” Cooper asked, casting a handsome smile up at one of the girls when she came over to give him a hot drink. “Thanks, Betty.”

“You aren’t really.” Steve shrugged as he tugged his bowl closer in case someone tried to tidy it away before he’d finished eating. “You’re more Captain America than I am.”

“I might have to disagree there. On the comic, it says ‘based on Captain Rogers and Captain Cooper.’ Your name comes first. I think it’s just that you don’t… well, look…” He trailed off awkwardly, apparently too polite to say that, even with muscles, Steve was still short and skinny.

“I don’t look like a hero. I know.” He shrugged, then began eating again.

“Only because they don’t know what they’re looking for.” Cooper retorted, but his eyes were gentle. “You volunteered for a dangerous experiment with the hopes that you could help win the war. Doesn’t matter what you look like, those’re the actions of a hero, if you ask me.”

“Thanks.” Steve nodded, mixing the broth in his bowl to get to the lumps.

“I’ll leave you to it.” Cooper stood up, his broad shoulders shadowing Steve from the sun until he stepped back and headed over to a group of showgirls who grinned widely at him.

\------

Steve had been travelling with Cooper for nearly three months when he got to see Agent Carter again, or rather Peggy, as she’d told him to call her. The heat of summer had long since faded and now the cold winter days were here; at least where they were in Italy, it was just wet, Steve supposed. Regardless of the weather, he had recognised Peggy not long after he, Cooper and their whole squad arrived; he had been sitting with the other soldiers in their small group when he’d spotted her arguing with Colonel Philips in a nearby tent.

They were all relaxing and playing cards, so he hadn’t minded folding and going to join her. She’d immediately told him off for not using her name then chatted about everything she’d been doing in the last four months, only half skimming over the classified sections.

“I see you’re finally in uniform.” She added, after a few moments of silence. 

Steve’s uniform was more like Captain Cooper’s than the regular soldiers; the whole unit wore deep blue clothing, with a slightly lighter blue star painted onto the centre of their armoured vests. “In the end.” He grinned at her. “It’s a little boring, and I still feel useless sometimes, but at least I’m out with other soldiers.”

She nodded her head. “Dr Erskine would be disappointed with Colonel Philips, I think.” She sighed, her beautiful hair cascading down her back as she looked up to the grey skies. “He looked at you and saw so much potential. All Philips sees is a problem for Stark.”

“Is he around? Stark, I mean.” Both his bonds had settled down enough that he could eat and sleep now, but he still missed Bucky and Stark with a deep ache.

“He will be. In an hour or two, hopefully, maybe less with the way he flies.” She grinned at him. “He’s travelling through, but I don’t think he could resist the detour to see you.”

Who just travelled through Italy? But maybe the man had some other mission he was on at the same time. “If we haven’t moved on by then.” Steve frowned as he watched Philips arguing with someone else now. “I don’t think Cooper has cheered up the troops like he was hoping to.” 

“I doubt he could with this lot.” She stated, her tone seeped with a sad certainty.

“What do you mean?”

Peggy paused for a moment as though she wasn’t sure what to tell him, but she explained anyway. “Schmidt sent out a force to Azzano. Two hundred men went up against him, and less than fifty returned. Captain Cooper’s audience contained what was left of the 107th, the rest were killed or captured.”

“The 107th?” Steve asked, jumping to his feet. He knew his sentinel wasn’t dead but he didn’t expect any more than that these days, he’d been away from Bucky for so long. But the idea that his friend was so close and he hadn’t known… Was he captured, or had Steve been sitting a few tents away from him all this time.

Steve raced through the rain to stand before Colonel Philips, forcing himself to stand as tall as he could at 5’4’’. “Colonel Philips.”

“Well, if it isn’t my favourite chorus girl.” And Steve could almost see the bitter emotions churning beneath the surface, just on the man’s face. “What are you singing for me today?”

“I need the casualty list from Azzano!”

“You don’t get to give me orders, son.” Philips replied, sounding far more exhausted than Steve could remember.

“I just need one name: Sergeant James Barnes from the 107th.” He stood his ground, needing this information.

Philips pointed his pen at Peggy, a sour look on his face. “You and I are going to have a conversation later that you won’t enjoy.”

“Please tell me he’s alive, sir. B-A-R-” Steve interrupted, needing an answer.

“I can spell.” He stared silently at Steve for a long, painful moment then he stood up, taking a stack of papers with him. “I have signed more of these condolence letters today than I would care to count… But, the name does sound familiar. I’m sorry.”

Steve felt sick. It wasn’t that he’d missed Bucky, but that Bucky was still in enemy hands… and he couldn’t even tell anyone that he was alive. 

“What about the others?” He asked, almost desperate for a chance to get his sentinel back. “Are you planning a rescue mission?”

“Yeah. It’s called winning the war.” Philips was watching him carefully, but Steve didn’t dare leave yet. He had to do something.

“But if you know where they are, why not at least send-”

“They’re thirty miles behind the lines.” Philips interrupted him, moving to stand beside a map that Steve hadn’t noticed. “Through some of the most heavily fortified territory in Europe. We’d lose more men than we’d save. But I don’t expect you to understand that because you’re a chorus girl.” 

Steve scowled. Was Philips daring him? It felt like a dare. “I think I understand just fine.”

“Well then, understand it somewhere else.” Philips stepped past him. “If I read the posters correctly you get have to take your Captain to sing and dance somewhere else real soon.”

He took a moment to stare at the map Philips had stepped away from, taking in the landscape, the roads and anything else that might help later on. Without a word, he marched out the tent and through the camp, where the rain hand finally let up.

Steve hurried over to the tent filled with the junk they’d brought with them, recognising that he would need to take some stuff with him; a flask of water, a parachute…

“What do you plan to do?” Peggy asked as she watched him grab stuff. “Walk to Austria?”

“If that’s what it takes.” Steve replied honestly. He’d do whatever he needed to do to get Bucky back.

“You heard the colonel, your friend is most likely dead.” Peggy said, her voice compassionate as she stepped towards him.

“You don’t know that.” Steve replied because he knew that his friend was alive, could feel life in their bond still… but Steve really didn’t know for how much longer. He collected one of the girl’s helmets, big enough to be worn with their hair all done up so it wasn’t a bad fit for him.

“Even so, he’s devising a strategy. If he detects that-”

Steve interrupted her, manners less important than saving Bucky. “By the time he’s done that, it could be too late!” He tugged on his jacket and headed out, grabbing Cooper’s shield from where it had been propped up against one of the tent poles. 

“Steve!” Peggy followed him, but she didn’t say anything else as he threw stuff into one of the cars. He had never driven before, but Holmes had mentioned the very basics to him when Cooper and the girls had been on stage leaving Steve and the other soldiers waiting around. 

“You said that Erskine wanted more for me than this.” He said, hands braced on the side of the vehicle. “Do you agree?” Did she think he was more than a chorus girl? He had been through basic training. He could do this… but it would be nice to hear it from someone else.

“Absolutely.” She replied, her brown eyes warm as they gazed into his own.

“Then you’ve gotta let me go.” He went to climb into the vehicle, but she reached over to touch his hand.

“I can do more than that.” She said softly. “Look over there.” 

Steve looked to where she pointed in the sky and spotted the little plane. He focussed carefully, and grinned as he spotted the Stark Industries paint on the side. “Stark!” He wanted to see if he could spot his guide through the window, but decided it was better to wait. He didn’t want to make himself sick before he even left for Bucky.

“Move over. I’ll take us over there.” She said, then began to climb into the driver’s seat, leaving Steve no option but to budge along.

They moved over to the next empty strip of land, as Stark landed and Steve found himself pulling the other man into a tight hug before he had chance to think better.

“Rogers. Good to see you too.” But despite his joking tone, Steve could feel Stark relaxing against him.

“Mr Stark.” Peggy greeted him, but Steve still wasn’t ready to let go. It had been months since he’d last seen his guide.

“Agent Carter.” Stark said, shifting enough to tuck Steve’s face into his neck as he spoke. “You two just in the area, or were you here for a reason?”

“I think Steve would have been here anyway.” Peggy noted, a hint of laughter in her voice. “But actually, we need a lift.”

Stark pressed a hand to Steve’s hair, running his fingers through the damp strands in a movement that was so similar to Bucky, that he couldn’t help pressing closer. “Where to?”

“Well…” She hesitated, so Steve pulled back.

“There’s a base about thirty miles over enemy lines. They have prisoners, including my best friend.” He explained, using their bond to get across how serious he was about this. “I just need dropping off close enough to get there.”

“You sure?” Stark asked with a slight frown, and Steve could feel his concern as the man gazed at him.

“Completely.”

“Hop in then.” Stark turned around and headed back into his plane, Steve and Peggy following. “Where are we going?”

As Peggy went to speak to Stark, Steve sat in the back of the plane and had a go at meditating. He watched as Sandra, his Puma, stretched out before him. His Spirit animal met his gaze flatly.

‘ _You’ve been avoiding me._ ’ 

‘Sorry.’ Steve winced, tugging nervously on his helmet. ‘I… It’s good to see you?’

She didn’t look impressed. ‘ _You haven’t meditated properly since you had that experiment done._ ’ She scolded in a tone that reminded Steve of his Ma.

‘I know. It’s been hard to manage more than a light meditation. I couldn’t get far enough in to see you.’

‘ _You still aren’t far in._ ’

‘I have a true bond with the pilot.’ He said in an attempt to change the subject.

‘ _I know._ ’ She arched her back, her tawny coat looked soft. Steve reached out to pet her, and she allowed it.

‘And I’m going to get Bucky.’

‘ _He needs you. He’s been trying to mediate, but Doreen and I can’t get him to see us._ ’

Doreen was a honey badger and the most stubborn creature Steve had ever encountered. She was Bucky’s spirit animal and so his guide when Steve couldn’t be there; the only problem with the spirit animals was that they were only tangible when the human was able to drop into a meditative trance, and they couldn’t affect things in the physical world. Doreen and Sandra would be no comfort to Bucky if he couldn’t drop into the spiritual plane.

“The Hydra camp is in Kreuzberg,” Peggy’s voice pulled him out of it, and Steve felt Sandra’s fur fade beneath his fingers, “tucked between these two mountain ranges. It’s a factory of some kind.”

Steve looked at the map she had on her knee, noting the slight differences between this one and the one Philips had. 

“We should be able to drop you right on the doorstep.” Stark called back, most of his attention on flying the plane. 

“Get me as close as you can.” He replied to his guide before shifting to address the woman before him. “You two are gonna be in a lot of trouble when you land.” 

“And you won’t?” She raised an elegant eyebrow.

“Where I’m going, if anybody yells at me, I can just shoot ‘em.” He pointed out, a nervous grin quirking his lips.

“They will undoubtedly shoot back.” Peggy didn’t sound amused, but Steve was already worried about this mission without thinking too hard about it.

He tapped Cooper’s shield. “Well, let’s hope it’s good for something.” She managed a slight smile, but she looked worried.

“Agent Carter? If we’re not in too much of a hurry, I thought we could stop off in Lucerne for a late-night fondue.” Stark called from the front of the airplane. Steve would have frowned at that, but he could tell Stark was actually hungry; he’d learnt to recognise amorous feelings along a bond with Bucky, and while Stark’s words could be taken that way, Steve trusted him. Even Stark would pander more to a true bond than the chance for some petting with the girl Steve liked. Stark always came across as the kind of guy who flirted as his normal way of talking.

“Stark is the best civilian pilot I’ve ever seen.” Peggy pointed out, and Steve realised that she couldn’t read anything that Steve could along their bond. She wasn’t even a guide and so couldn’t get an easy read on the atmosphere. “He’s mad enough to brave this air space. We’re lucky to have him.”

“So you…” Steve wondered if she was going to say no to Stark later, if she might have said yes if Steve had asked her. “Would you… fondue?” His words didn’t come out right at all, but asking a woman what she thought of him was difficult. 

“This is your transponder.” Peggy handed over a small, mechanical box, completely ignoring his attempt at a question. “Activate it when you’re ready and the signal will lead us straight to you.”

He looked curiously at the box, wondering if Stark had built it. He needed to get over the idea that things built by this man exploded. “Are you sure this thing works?” He called to Stark, lifting his gaze to stare at his guide’s face.

“It’s been tested more than you, pal.” Stark retorted, but there was a bright spark of amusement along their bond.

Steve was about to mention the explosions at the 1942 show when gunfire sounded around them. Hells bells, this was not what they needed; he’d wanted to sneak in unnoticed. Jumping up, he grabbed the shield and opened the door. 

“Get back here!” Peggy barked as he sat down and swung his legs out, checking his parachute was good to go. “We’re taking you all the way in.”

“As soon as I’m clear, you turn this thing around and get the hell out of here.” Steve yelled back, his eyes taking in the landscape below him as he tried to estimate where he would land.

“You can’t give me orders.” Peggy objected.

“The hell I can’t.” Steve responded, looking up at her; she really was beautiful with all that dark hair whipping around her face, he wasn’t going to let these two fly him further into danger. “I’m a captain.” Then he tugged his goggles down and jumped out, trusting Stark to get them both to safety.

He managed to bring himself down near to the base, hurrying through the trees to pause on the outskirts. Somehow, it all felt bigger than he’d expected… even though he wasn’t entirely sure what he’d been expecting. 

There were bright lights sweeping across the ground, voices shouting in a language he assumed was German and soldiers scurrying about. A part of Steve wanted to back away, hide in the safety of the trees and head back home… but a larger part knew that he couldn’t leave Bucky here.

Crouching down behind a trunk, Steve searched his mostly dormant bond trying to see if he was close enough to Bucky to feel him, or if they’d been apart so long that he needed to be closer. But to be honest, it was hard to say. He could feel something, but it was muted in a way that could either be distance or… or there could be something wrong with Bucky’s mind. He shuddered at the idea, but it tightened his resolve and he moved.

He ducked under the barbed wire and jumped into the back of a passing truck. One which was, unfortunately, already occupied. “Fellas.” Steve greeted, before moving quickly to knock them out before they could shoot him.

Once he felt the truck park, he knocked out the soldier who tried to look inside, then jumped out and ran for cover. He ducked behind the armoured vehicles with the Hydra logo on then: a skull with six tentacles curling out below. He took a deep breath and looked out; he’d read about Hydra in the files he’d been able to access, but he’d had no idea their branch of the Nazi army was so large. He quickly spotted a way in, and gave himself no time to think it through; he ran over to the tank jumped up onto it and onto the roof of the building beside it.

Thankful for his dark clothing, he jogged over to an open window and swung himself inside. The room was empty, apart from a desk with an old oil lamp burning on the corner and stacks of paper lying around. He only glanced at the files on his way past, but they weren’t written in English so he couldn’t get anything from them.

Sniffing quietly, he easily worked out the most used corridors and he made his way through them, ducking into cupboards when he heard people coming. Eventually, he paused outside what looked like a factory floor from what little he could see from the window. He tapped the barrel of his gun on the door to bring the guard over then knocked him out and dumped him in a storage cupboard that didn’t smell too fresh.

It sure looked like a factory floor, but as he made his way across, Steve couldn’t begin to guess what they were making. He grabbed one of the small, glowing boxes before carrying on, as Stark would probably know what he was looking at. 

The next room along had to have the prisoners in; the atmosphere was heavy with fear and frustration, and the place stunk of ripe, unwashed bodies, of vomit and untended injuries. Inside was quiet, and Steve could see prisoners in round cages, only a few of them whispering, most simply sitting and staring blankly out. 

Moving quickly, he knocked out the guards and took their keys.

“Who are you supposed to be?” One of the prisoners asked him, squinting up at Steve.

“I’m Captain Rogers.” He replied, jumping down and moving over to start unlocking cages.

“And the shield?” Asked another prisoner, his British accent making Steve realise there were more men here than the captured 107th. 

“More useful than you might think.” He shrugged, having knocked out numerous soldiers with it already. 

“What? You taking everybody?” The man in the bowler hat asked as Steve continued to unlock cages.

One of the other men glared at the man in the bowler hat. “I’m from Fresno, Ace.”

But Steve didn’t care where people were from. He wasn’t going to leave people prisoner just because they weren't from New York. “Is there anybody else?” He asked, urgently. He still hadn’t seen Bucky. “I’m looking for a Sergeant James Barnes.”

“There’s an isolation ward in the factory.” The British guy he’d spoken to already informed him. “But, no one’s ever come back from it.”

“All right.” He’d let them go while he went to search for Bucky. “The treeline is northwest, eighty yards past the gate. Get out fast and give ‘em hell. I’ll meet you guys in the clearing with anybody else I find.”

“Wait. You know what you’re doing?” One of the soldiers asked, and Steve was surprised to feel a note of concern directed at him.

“Absolutely. It’s what I’ve trained for.” At least, if he thought of the time spent testing his abilities in the lab as training, then he had. He had discovered he was good at identifying how many people were in another room without ever needing to see inside; he could take a good guess at age and fitness, as well as if they were handling weapons or not. 

He turned and ran down the corridor that the men had pointed him down, sighing in relief when he picked up a scent that was undeniably Bucky. His friend was here. 

With a sniff he headed through a side door as an alarm began to blare loudly. “Oh, come on.” He grouched, an excess of energy burning through his body as he began running again.

The next corridor had soldiers pelting down it but Steve used his shield and his fists to fight his way through, not really willing to use his gun to actually kill anyone yet. At the moment, it felt almost like a funny thing that the shield was going to need blood cleaning off it before he gave it back to Captain Cooper. He hurried past what looking like tiny planes, through another door and into a dimly lit corridor. 

At the end, a short man with a briefcase ran away, and Steve was about to give chase when he heard a moan from a room off to the side. 

“Sergeant. 32557. Barnes.” The man slurred, and Steve ran to his side.

“Bucky!” he gasped, and he grabbed his arm. The skin contact blew their bond wide open, and Steve nearly crashed to his knees. “Bucky…” 

He forced himself to move, breaking Bucky free of the straps before sliding a hand under his shoulder.

“Is- Is that?” Bucky murmured, his eyes struggling to focus.

“It’s me.” He said, earnestly. “It’s Steve. Come on.”

“Steve… Steve…” Bucky muttered, one hand sliding up to touch the bare skin on his neck as the younger man pulled him to his feet.

“Come on.” Their bond was filled with the pain that Bucky was in but Steve gritted his teeth. They didn’t have time to waste, but he stopped for a moment to look into his sentinel’s eyes. “I thought you were… You’re not dead.” He’d known Bucky wasn’t dead in theory, their bond confirmed that, but it was something else to have the other man standing before him.

“I don’t remember you being this strong.” The older sentinel wondered as Steve held his arms, letting him get his feet under him.

He glanced around, wondering if there was another way out, when he noticed a map on the back wall. He focussed quickly on the six marked locations before taking most of Bucky’s weight over his shoulders and half carrying him out. His water flask was hidden near the clearing, and he’d share when they got away.

“What happened to you?” Bucky asked as Steve upped the pace.

“I joined the army.” 

“What does that mean? And I can walk, give me a second.”

Steve paused, letting Bucky lean against the corridor wall, but only for a moment. “I joined the scientific division and they gave me this weird experimental treatment.” He shrugged, then began to move again, allowing his friend to take his own weight. “I’m stronger than I look, I’m healthier, not had a lick of bother with my asthma. I’m also a sentinel now.”

“A sentinel? How does that work?”

“No idea.” Steve replied, not even half his attention on the conversation as he checked their route. “All five senses though.”

“Huh… Did it hurt?”

“A little.” Or a lot, but he wasn’t going to tell Bucky that.

“Is it permanent?”

“So far.”

But as they stepped out onto the factory floor, explosions ripped through the air. Realising they wouldn’t be able to walk across the main floor without getting burnt, Steve tapped Bucky on the arm and they made their walk up to the walkways that crossed higher up. 

“Captain America.” A man called out, his German accent curling around the title. “How exciting. I am a great fan of the films.”

“Not mine.” Steve called back as he stepped in front of Bucky and positioned the shield in front of himself.

“No? You are not the man the good doctor chose? Captain Rogers, the real inspiration for Captain America?” The man asked as he stepped onto the walkway and slowly paced towards them. 

It was a claim Steve had heard before, that he was the real Captain America and Cooper was just there to look nice, even Cooper himself had said it! But there was something uncomfortably knowledgeable about the way this man spoke.

“So… Doctor Erskine managed it after all.” Drawled the man, likely Schmidt, though Steve had never seen a picture of Erskine’s original subject. “Not exactly an improvement, but still… impressive.”

Steve was being judged on his height… he could tell from the way Schmidt’s gaze went up and down. He hated it. He walked up close to Schmidt and punched him in the face, same as he had so many bullies. “You got no idea.” He said, not quite growling.

“Haven’t I?” Schmidt asked, but Steve saw the movements of his punch early and raised the shield… which was quickly dented in the shape of Schmidt’s fist. Geez, he sure was strong. Definitely was Schmidt then.

Steve went for his gun, but Schmidt’s second punch knocked him off his feet. Landing on his back on the walkway, he lifted both his feet and kicked Schmidt hard in the chest as he stepped over him, sending the other man flying back, and he scrambled to his feet.

The short man that he’d seen earlier retracted the bridge and then Steve and Bucky were on the other side to the exit. 

“No matter what lies Erskine told you. You see, I was his greatest success!” Schmidt snarled, but then he moved his fingers to his neck and peeled off his face. 

Steve stared in horror as Schmidt showed them the red skin, the red skull that he had been hiding. 

“You don’t have one of those, do you?” Bucky asked softly, from where he was crouched down. 

Schmidt raised his chin as he spoke. “You are deluded, Captain. You pretend to be a simple soldier, but in reality you are just afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind.” Steve continued to stare at him, unable to speak. He looked like a demon in the paintings of Hell, but Schmidt began to head towards the exit. “Unlike you, I embrace it proud! Without fear.”

“Then how come you’re running?” Steve shouted at him, but the men left without reply as another series of explosions set off below them.

Looking around, he spotted another way across higher up. It wasn’t a proper walkway, but it would do. “Come on. Let’s go! Up!” He tugged on Bucky’s arm, getting his tired friend to follow him and they hurried up the stairs.

“Steve?” Bucky said softly as he looked at the narrow strip of metal. 

“I know. Come on. One at a time.” He pushed his sentinel over to the railing first, helping him over and nodding encouragingly as he began to move. Heart in his mouth, he watch Bucky edge slowly along, barely breathing when the metal began to buckle and his friend threw himself the rest of the way, just managing to grab the railing before the metal bridge fell into the firestorm below.

He stared across the gap, knowing at least his friend was safe… but Bucky wasn’t moving away.

“There’s gotta be a rope or something.” Bucky yelled, his eyes scanning the area.

“Just go.” Steve begged. “Get out of here.”

“No! Not without you!” and the sincerity in his words rang across their bond; Bucky wasn’t going to go without Steve.

“Aw, hell.” He muttered, using his enhanced strength to bend the metal railings back. He had to try something if Bucky was just going to stay there.

He backed up, staring through the rising smoke and fire at his friend… Could he jump that distance? He still wasn’t all that heavy; surely with how strong he was, he could get across. Sending up a quick, heartfelt prayer, he ran and then he jumped, his eyes locked onto his friend and he flew through the air and slammed into the wall on the other side.

“Hell, Steve? You okay?” Bucky’s hands were gentle as they turned him over, skimming lightly over his face and down to his chest, where Steve reached up to grab them. 

“I’m okay.” He insisted, staggering to his feet with Bucky’s help. “Come on.” He moved towards the stairs, keeping pace with Bucky as they hurried through corridors and out a hole in the wall.

“What happened?” Bucky wondered as they ran through the dying fires towards the tree line.

“I let the other prisoners out first.” Steve explained. “Hopefully they waited for us.”

And he couldn’t help grinning as he saw them waiting. They had a very long walk ahead of them, but he didn’t much care what Philips did to him after this. It was worth it.

\------

“So you’re a sentinel?” Gabe Jones asked as they sat around a table in the English pub, enjoying both the alcohol and the atmosphere.

“Yeah, but only since that experiment.” He shrugged. “Doctor Erskine said something about the serum making the perfect person, so I guess having my senses all increased is a part of it.”

“But what’s that like?” Dum Dum asked, leaning in. “To go from not being a sentinel to suddenly being one. As an adult?”

Steve understood what he meant. People normally had a test at about eleven or twelve to see if they were a guide or sentinel and it was real rare for these abilities to develop later than fourteen or fifteen; Steve had developed his guide senses at the age of eight, in response to Bucky’s sentinel abilities, but he never did get tested. He’d been too sick to go to school when they visited his class when he was eleven. 

“It was painful. And Doctor Erskine was killed so…” He paused for a moment, sadness enveloping him as he remembered, but Bucky nudged his arm and pulled him back to the conversation. “So I went feral straight away, until Howard Stark touched me.”

“Some people spend their lives dream of a true bond, and you get one after less than a day of being a sentinel.” Falsworth murmured, his voice slightly awed.

“Yeah, but he is a weapon’s contractor for the army and I had to go do more training and sit around in a lab. We may have a bond, but I didn’t get to see him again for nearly four months.”

“That a good idea?” Jim Morita asked, as he swirled the dregs of his drink around in his glass. 

Steve shrugged slightly. “Not really.”

“Whoever thought the army had good ideas?” Dum Dum raised his brow before tipping his head back to finish his drink.

“You doing okay?” Bucky asked Steve quietly as Gabe and Jacques got up to buy another round. 

He sighed. “I will be. Kind of hard to believe I’m allowed to put my own team together and go do something useful.”

“That’s not what I mean.” He replied with a frown. 

“I know.” He scraped his fingers through his hair. “And hopefully I will be.”

He knew what Bucky was talking about; ever since they’d seen Schmidt and escaped, Steve had been having nightmares, dreaming of his own skin peeling off to show that red skull… He shuddered and pressed close.

“So when am I going to get to meet Stark?” Bucky asked, changing the subject.

“Not sure.” He accepted another pint off Jim and sat back. “He won’t be able to travel with us though.” They had just gotten everyone to agree to work as a team together, to take down Hydra, but Howard Stark wasn’t a part of it.

“I think Falsworth is a guide. Can you work with him?” Bucky asked, leaning against Steve, who could feel his friend getting sleepy in the warmth, with the beer and the relaxed chatter.

“I’ll ask.”

“You know what you should have asked?” His voice was stating to slur, and Steve knew his friend was going to be asleep on his shoulder soon.

“No. What?”  
“Should have asked Agent Carter to go dancing with you.” Steve’s face reddened at Bucky’s words. “She would have said yes.”

“Yeah, maybe. I’ll ask another time.” He said quietly, trying to not think of dancing with Peggy; it seemed like too wild an idea. “You don’t think she’d mind stepping on me?”

“I think she likes who you are, punk.”

“Hope so.”

\------

“You know the bit where we have a true bond, pal?” 

Steve had come down as ordered, gotten himself cornered and kissed by Private Lorraine and then cleared up what Stark had meant by fondue.

“Yeah?”

“It means you should call me Howard. Now this? This is carbon polymer. Should withstand your average German bayonet. Although, Hydra’s not gonna attack you with a pocket knife.” He led Steve passed the damaged remains of Cooper’s shield, still with a dent in it from Schmidt’s fist. “I hear you’re kind of attached?”

“It’s handier than you might think.” Steve affirmed, with a slight smile.

“I took the liberty of coming up with some options.” St- Howard elaborated as he nodded to the table he’d led Steve to. The inventor must have realised he’d liked using a shield, because there were various different types spread out before them. “This one’s fun. She’s been fitted with electrical relays that allow you to-”

But Steve had seen another one tucked under the table. “What about this one?” It was a simple disc, with no fancy technology involved, no chance of it exploding. 

“No, that’s just a prototype.” Howard said, but he grinned as he stepped over anyway.

Steve picked it up. “What’s it made of?” He wondered, as it was lighter than the shield he’d taken from Cooper.

“Vibranium. It’s stronger than steel and a third the weight.” Steve slid his hand and arm into the straps. “It’s completely vibration absorbent.”

He really liked this one. “How come it’s not standard issue?”

Howard shrugged, still smiling slightly. “That’s the rarest metal on Earth. What you’re holding there? That’s all we’ve got.”

“Are you quite finished, Mr Stark?” Peggy's sharp voice cut off Steve’s reply, but he turned to her anyway. “I’m sure the Captain has some unfinished business.”

“What do you think?” He asked, holding it up to show her, wanting her approval.

Admittedly, he hadn’t been expecting her to shoot at him four times, but the shield protected him, absorbing the vibrations, just as Howard had said it would.

“Yes, I think it works.” She managed a tight smile, before she marched passed him with her lips flattened in a carefully blank expression.

Her confidence was stunning, and Steve gaped after her, open mouthed. He had to find some way to explain that the private had kissed him and not the other way around.

“I had some ideas about the uniform.” He told his guide, still staring after Peggy.

“Whatever you want, pal.”

The uniform he’d picked was still made up of the dark blue colours that his old one had been, but the star on the front was a lighter grey, to be slightly more visible than it used to be. The helmet had little wings painted on the side, similar to Cooper’s cowl and the boots and gloves were just regular dark leather. The men had told him he had to look at least a little like Captain America while they had been drinking last night, so he added in stripes down the torso of his outfit too, in two different shades of dark blue. He’d need to work with Howard to be able to attach his shield to his back, but he didn’t care for bright colours as he wasn’t doing this to be in newspapers. 

If he got to have a shield too, that wasn’t going to be in any bold, noticeable colours either. 

Hopefully, people would say they were rescued by a man wearing stars and stripes without noticing what he looked like; Captain America already had a face and it wasn’t his.

\------

Steve was whining loudly, his eyes shut tight and his lips pressed into a flat line as he tried to block out the smell; they’d stumbled across an old trench, filled with corpses. Bucky was trying not to gag, but with his own guide in touching distance, he was managing. Not for the first time, he softly cursed the quirk of nature that had Steve as his true guide, but didn’t allow him to reciprocate; Howard was a true match for his friend, but Howard didn’t come out into the trenches with them… and fucking Falsworth had gone to scout ahead already with Jim and Dum Dum.

“Steve.” He whispered, edging closer to his friend to grasp at his hand. “Come on, pal, I need you to focus on me.” He wasn’t a guide, and couldn’t use the spiritual side of their bond to guide the blond back, but maybe he could get through to his senses. “I don’t know why we don’t have more guides in the Commandos, you know. Bad plan when you put this group together there, huh?”

Steve wriggled closer to slip under his arm and Bucky couldn’t help the sigh of relief as his friend pressed his face into his shoulder. They had crossed over into the German lines, and the bodies scattered weren’t their own, but the looks of terror on their faces were enough to turn Bucky’s stomach. Times like this made it hard to remember why he’d ever wanted to be a soldier.

“Sniff away, Steve. I’m not gonna be fresh, but can’t be as bad as this.” His guide was in distress, which was keeping his own senses focussed, but at least these were all dead. Steve’s guide abilities had increased with the experiments that Erskine and Stark had done, but they’d never tested those limits because Steve had never told anyone he was a guide; but Bucky knew he had an awareness of everyone in the vicinity, and he could tell when someone died… which was not a great thing to learn while in the middle of a war. 

They weren’t even supposed to be on the front lines, not really. While trench warfare was thankfully not a prominent part of the war they were fighting (as Bucky honestly hated the wet, smelly, tight places), they’d been making use of the array of old trenches to reach the edge of the German lines, whilst dragging Cooper along with them and a photographer; some twit had decided it was a good idea for the troops to see Captain America, as well as getting some photos of him interacting with the troops for the newspapers back home. Bucky hoped he hadn’t taken photos of this but had left the rotting remains of these poor buggers alone. 

It was a nice idea in theory to get propaganda pictures for the newspapers, but damn if Bucky hadn’t had enough of Stanley, the idiot with a camera trying to get people to pose when they were trying to get on with their lives. Stanley seemed to think that it put him outside of their ranks, that he could tell them where to stand so he could get a picture. Cooper hung out with the Howling Commandos often enough that he was willing to trust them; if someone said ‘duck’ then he ducked and would only ask why later on if he couldn’t figure it out for himself. 

Cooper was learning to relax around them, even if Stanley was hanging about. They let the photographer stick around and kept him safe as best they could but he didn’t make it easy with his need to be there whenever something happened, but he was also the one who made notes on what they did and took it to the people who made the comics… He supposed Stanley must have some understanding of how annoying he actually was because those comics? They always made the Howling Commandos out to be big heroes, with a close camaraderie that people loved to read about. 

He sometimes wondered what it would be like if people knew that they were the Howling Commandos; the artists always drew a group of guys who were similar to their group, but not close enough that they were ever recognised. There were a handful of photos of Cooper with them, but they were only ever labelled ‘Captain Cooper and the troops’. Steve, he knew, had been given the option of having a photo in the comics, because Captains Rogers and Cooper were the inspirations of Captain America, but Steve had said no. 

“Steve! Barnes!” Cooper shouted to them, his bulk easy to spot in the narrow trenches. “Morita found a map.”

The unexpected voice seemed to jolt through Steve, and he lifted his head enough to stare into Bucky’s eyes.

“Come on, let’s move.” He said, trying to make his voice warm and encouraging while his eyes still prickled from the strong smell around them. 

Steve nodded his head and allowed Bucky to lead the way, his distress a high note that strummed over and over along their bond as they stepped over bodies, through puddles and dodged the gigantic vermin that crawled about. 

“In here.” Cooper beckoned as he squeezed through a doorway into what looked like a tiny office. 

“These trenches were shelled over two weeks ago.” Dum Dum explained as they all crowded round the little table. “So there’s been time for changes, but a base this big?” He pointed to a marking on the map. “It’d take time to move. The last two places we took were just outposts, but this looks like something more permanent.” 

“That looks like a proper road.” Steve observed, his mind apparently clearing now there was a gap between himself and the dead bodies. “A trade route?”

“This guy seems to have some odd correspondence.” He nodded to the body on the bunk, who was only half dressed, so Bucky couldn’t see his rank. “Jacques is looking it over, because he thinks it looks coded, but I think so.”

“Out of the way enough that it could be Schmidt.” Steve continued softly, his eyes scanning over the map.

“Schmidt is mentioned in these letters. Apparently he’s been looking for anyone and everyone with unusual abilities, or who survived unexpectedly.” Gabe piped up from his spot on the floor beside Jacques. 

“What do you mean?” Bucky asked, stepping closer to his guide and he watched the two men whisper to each other.

“I mean exactly that. He says about anything that can only be deemed a miracle, or magic, then he wants that person delivered to him.” Gabe shrugged, but he looked uncomfortable.

“You think he’s looking for our Captain?” Jim asked, the subtle hint of irritation in his voice echoed in the movement of the others as they cast a concerned look at Steve. 

“He’s only met you once, right?” Cooper didn’t seem to mind that they preferred Steve as their Captain over him, even he had stepped closer to the blond in a protective move that he didn’t seem to be aware of. “And that was, what? Four months ago.”

“You underestimate Steve’s ability to aggravate people if you think he needs to meet them more than once before they want to take him out.” Bucky joked, grinning at his friend who glowered at him.

“He knew Dr Erskine.” Steve explained to Cooper, a conversation he’d already had with the rest of the men, but Cooper and Stanley hadn’t been with them at the time. “Erskine considered him a failure as the experiment increased his aggressive and greedy nature.”

“It’s why he wanted Steve.” Bucky pointed out, before Steve could underwhelm them with his own opinion of himself. “He wanted a good man, because that would be amplified rather than anything less savoury. Steve’s a kind and compassionate – ow!” he yelped as Steve hit him, laughing.

“Let’s go check this place out then.” Steve said, ignoring Bucky’s complaints with a grin.

\------

“I can’t believe we’re coming in through the sewers.” Gabe grumbled softly as they shuffled through the tunnels. 

Steve grinned slightly. He’d dialled down his sense of smell, so it wasn’t bothering him at all. “These are old buildings. You’d think they’d do something about this obvious gap in security.”

“We’re in the middle of bloody nowhere.” Falsworth huffed, one hand on his rucksack, which had Stanley’s camera in; they’d left the man at their camp rather than dragging him into this. Falsworth had promised to take photographs and tell him what had happened. “They probably aren’t expecting anyone.”

They had trekked for days through Nazi Germany, then they had taken a small outpost with vehicles. Dum Dum had taught him how to start a car without the key, and Jacques had taught him how to drive; overall, Steve had really enjoyed this particular trip. They’d driven the two vehicles they’d taken for nearly two more days before dumping them and trekking quietly the rest of the way.

“I don’t care how we get it.” Cooper stated, breathing easily enough that Steve knew he’d dialled back his ability to smell too. “As long as no one tells Stanley that this is how we got in.”

“I’m not taking any photos of this.” Falsworth promised, and Steve could feel his amusement along their surface bond. 

“Should be able to get in from here.” Jim said softly, slowly beginning to climb the ladder.

They all fell silent, listening as Jim quietly checked out the room he’d entered. When he came back to let them know it was clear, the rest of them headed up.

“Dum Dum? Hold this position.” Steve gave his orders quietly, but the man nodded and headed over to the door. The room they were in had a toilet and an old tin bath in, with a drain on the floor that emptied into the tunnels they had just left. There were no windows, and there was only one door. If necessary, the bottleneck would keep him safe.

Steve led them through the corridors, carefully listening for anything that sounded out of place, but there were very few people around. 

They paused once to let a pair of guards pass by, their easy laughter letting the group know that the place really wasn’t on high alert. Twice the paused to let Falsworth take a photo, the apologetic thrum of their surface bond making Steve accept his request with far more grace than he would have with Stanley.

When they reached a junction, Steve paused. The other junctions they had reached, one path had clearly been more used than others, but both of these seemed to be used on a regular basis, the scent of people hung in the air. Down the left corridor, he thought he could hear voices, but down the other, there was an odd noise that he couldn’t quite identify.

“Gabe, Jacques and Jim? You guys go left here. We’ll keep going.” He waited for them all to nod. “I hear voices, so be careful.”

The men nodded again and crept off to the side. Steve led Bucky, Falsworth and Cooper along the next corridor. The whole thing had him on edge for one simple reason; he couldn’t smell Schmidt at all around here; whether it had been a long time since he had been here, or whether he sent other people to collect the special guests he gather, Steve wasn’t sure… But it meant he didn’t know what to expect at all; he didn’t know who was in charge here.

“I can hear crying.” Steve suddenly said, as he realised what the sound was. 

“Crying?” His sentinel asked; he felt both Bucky and Falsworth’s surprise at his statement, but he was confident that he was right.

“Yeah. Not a child, I don’t think. But not an adult?” He said, listening to whispers of “Mach das nicht”, spoken in a voice that kept breaking in the middle. “Come on.” 

They crept further along, halting outside the door as Steve listened in. There was still just the one voice, a teenage boy if Steve had to guess and he couldn’t hear anyone else other than his own team behind him… Wishing he’d kept either Gabe or Jacques with him, he slowly opened the door and stepped inside, eyes scanning the room to check what his ears had already told him; no one else was there.

“Hallo?” The quivering voice asked, and Steve’s eyes dropped to the small form, curled in the corner. He was a skinny young man, similar to the half-starved boys Steve had both been and grown up around; he was probably about fourteen, but Steve quickly spotted the Star of David sewn onto his clothing. A prisoner then? 

“Hello.” He said gently, lowering his gun as he went to crouch before the boy. “I’m Steve.” He pointed to himself, and tried to put a smile on his face.

“E-Erik.” The young man replied, and Steve nodded.

He pointed to the door. “Do you want to leave with us?” He asked, hoping Erik spoke enough English to make this conversation easy.

“Yes!” He replied eagerly, but then gestured to his wrists and ankles, which were tightly bound with rope.

“Steve? He okay?” Bucky called out softly, still near the doorway.

“He’s been tied up. Can you see anything to cut rope with?” The knots were tight, but at least he wasn’t trying to break through manacles. He wasn’t sure he could open those with injuring the person he was trying to rescue.

“Doesn’t look like there is anything sharp in here.” Bucky grouched, but he came over and crouched down as well, making a start on the ropes on Erik’s legs. 

Soon enough, they were heading back. Falsworth had taken one more photograph of them with Cooper in front and Erik half hidden between himself and Bucky as they carried the lad between them, his ankles badly damaged from the ropes. 

“Okay.” Steve sighed as they reached their starting point. “Bucky, you three take Erik back to camp. Get him bandaged up and see if Stanley left us anything to feed him with. I’ll wait with Dum Dum for the others then Gabe and Jacques can ask him about what he wants to do.”

“Got it.” Bucky nodded, thankfully never argumentative when it mattered.

“Try keep his ankles out that water.” He added, thinking about what they had trudged through to get inside.

Bucky shuddered, but nodded his head and one at a time, they disappeared back down the ladder.

“You found someone then?” Dum Dum asked once they had gone.

“We didn’t come across any trace of Schmidt.” He explained stiffly, still on high alert as he listened for enemy soldiers. “Once we found Erik, we headed back. It was real quiet.”

“You don’t think he’s here.” Dum Dum realised, his eyes widening slightly.

Steve shook his head. “No. You remember what his other base was like? There were cameras and it was rigged to explode. He’s a paranoid guy who looks out for himself.”

“Huh.” The older man thought for a moment before nodding his head. “Makes sense. Even if he’s just stopping by here, he’d bring more soldiers, more protection. If he’s not stopping here, why tie up some kid?”

“Exactly… They’re coming back.” He could hear their footsteps and their breathing, still fairly relaxed so they must have had a less exciting trip.

“So…” Gabe started when he stepped inside, the other two following. “Schmidt is apparently away for a few days, or so we heard a couple of guys saying.” He was grinning slightly.

“Wrong guy.” Jacques said, smirking as Gabe scowled, apparently ruining his moment.

“Really?” Steve said, looking between the three of them.

“Yeah.” Gabe sighed, sliding a finger under his helmet to scratch. “Doctor Klaus Schmidt. Another random scientist Hitler’s forgotten about, I think.” He shrugged as they all turned and headed back down the ladder.

“That’s disappointing.” He muttered, feeling more than a little frustrated. “Guess we’re heading back to England for a while, unless we get a runner with new orders before then.”

“I do love marching.” Jim quietly grumbled, and Steve didn’t need to see him to know he was smirking really. 

“We found someone though. Some Jewish kid tied up with rope.” Steve said as they headed back through the sewer. “The others have taken him back to camp. German, I think. Was thinking you could ask him what he wants to do? If we should leave him by some town, or bring him with us, or something else?”

“You know, you can visit German bases without rescuing people?” Gabe said, his eyes bright and Steve laughed.

“You guys were the last ones I rescued from a base, so I wouldn’t complain.”

“First time we’ve come away without rescuing animals.” Dum Dum spoke up, snorting as Steve jokingly punched his shoulder. 

“Not my fault they keep animals around to experiment on, or test weapons on or why ever they keep ‘em. But I’m not gonna just leave them there.” He pointed out, breathing deeply as they finally left the tunnel, stepping out into cleaner air.

“Those sheep looked delicious.” Gabe complained quietly, but as much as Steve loved meat, he wasn’t up to killing the animals himself. While his guide senses had never been able to account for animals, he still liked them and always chose to release them into the wild. Maybe dead in the wild was better than definitely dead or experimented on by crazed Nazi scientists, if you asked him.

\------

“Howard!” Steve called out as he jumped off the train, a wide grin spreading over his face. “Did you get us those leave passes?” 

Howard was sat on the wall of the station, watching as various people scrambled about.

“Well, you said you guys hadn’t had any time to yourselves, so I mentioned it to some people.” He shrugged simply, watching as all the Howling Commandos huddled together. “I have a car, but you’re gonna have to sit on top of each other.”

“Where are we going?” Steve asked as he and Bucky squeezed into the front with Howard.

“It’s been shut up since the whole war thing, but my family has property out here in Italy. I figured if you are out here anyway, once you’re off the train then it’s not far to go.”

“Forty eight hour passes and a place to stay?” Bucky grinned across at the inventor. “Sounds like a dream come true.”

“Is it bad if I say I’m glad you left Cooper behind?” Howard asked as he set off down the road, the other guys chattering loudly in the open back.

Steve laughed. “I don’t mind Cooper, but his guide, Jonathon Stanley is the one I struggle to be okay with.”

“He is a handful.” Bucky confirmed. “But he gave me his camera anyway.”

“He trying to get pictures of everything?” Howard asked as the countryside zoomed past them.

“I don’t think he ever left his town before the war.” Steve shrugged, at least able to understand the other man’s enthusiasm. “It’s all kind of new for him.”

“So if you got us leave passes, did you make plans?” Bucky asked, more interested in his time off than anything else.

“Depends what you like doing. You can’t go drinking in the town cos you don’t speak the language, but I have a wine cellar, as well as whiskey and rum. I sent someone ahead to stock up on food and sort out bedding and stuff.” Howard said as though it was nothing. “I’ve got cards and games, you can drink, smoke, eat… no women, I’m afraid but I should still have a record player around, though I think it was broken so I might need to fix it before you can use it.”

“Sounds perfect.” Bucky sighed.

“You’re staying as well, right?” Steve asked, as the turned off the main road.

“Yeah. I’ll take you back to the train station on Thursday then I’ve got work to be getting on with.” Howard grinned at them, but the conversation died off as they headed down the small road for another half hour.

“This is yours?” Steve asked as he climbed out and stared at a building as big as the whole apartment block he’d lived in in Brooklyn.

“My uncle’s originally, but yeah. He gave it to me when he died.” He led the way inside as everyone tumbled out the car.

“Come here often?” Why did anyone need such big doors? They had to be twelve foot high! No one was that tall.

“A few times, when I wanted to get away from my mom and dad. Not for too long though.” Howard’s eyes were a little haunted as he lifted them to meet Steve’s gaze. “I’d rather fight with them than spend too much time on my own out here.” Loneliness flooded their bond, apparently echoing into Steve and Bucky’s bond as the two New Yorkers came up either side of him.

“Not alone now.” Steve pointed out, and a grin began to spread over Howard’s face as a camera clicked loudly. “Jim!” he laughed.

“Don’t know what you were saying, but it looked like a touching moment.” He teased as Howard began to grouch loudly and lead them through to the main reception room.

“Just drop your stuff in here, you can decide where you want to sleep later.” The guide said as the soldiers dropped down. “And if you wait a bit for the water to heat up, you can have a bath. We do have running, hot water out here.”

“Sounds perfect.” Falsworth sighed, smiling slightly. “I might never leave.”

“Who’s cooking tonight?” Gabe asked as he sunk comfortably into a couch.

“Me.” Dum Dum gave a wave. “Assuming you have food in.” He looked over at Howard who nodded his head.

“I think so. Want to have a look now?”

“Best do that before I fall asleep. Those seats sure are comfortable.”

As Dum Dum and Howard wandered off, Jacques pulled out his pack of cards; Bucky, Steve and Jim sat down with him to play as Falsworth and Gabe chatted quietly on the couch. 

“I know it’s only a short stop.” Bucky noted as he accepted his hand. “But it’s nice to be somewhere that we don’t need to look over our shoulder.”

“Can’t argue that.” Steve took his own and pulled a face at his hand; it was awful.

“Steve, don’t let us know what you have.” Jim reminded him, his own face blank of emotion.

“Oh yeah.” He wasn’t good at cards, but it was fun to join in. It was already Tuesday evening, the train ride here taking the afternoon and then the ride back on Thursday morning would fill in the end of it, but it was nice to spend one day away from the camp.

“Steve…” Bucky elbowed him as he scowled at his card. “Stop showing everyone what you think.”

“But I’ve got a real bad hand.” He objected. “I can’t help it.”

“Well, it could be better.” Howard piped up from behind him as he peered over Steve’s shoulder.

“I don’t need help.” He decided. “I can do this.”

“Budge up. Let me watch.” Howard dropped down next to Bucky, but he managed to keep his face blank too as he looked at his friend’s hand. 

“If skill doesn’t let me win, then maybe luck will.”

“Maybe we’ll take pity on you and throw the game.” Jim added, to objections from Jacques and Bucky.

“Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

 

\------

“Three, two, one, go!” Dum Dum counted them in with a smirk on his face, eyes bright as Steve, Bucky, Jim and Gabe began to stuff the mystery stew down their throats. Falsworth, Jacques and Dum Dum were unenthusiastically stirring their own as they watched their friends gag.

“That’s vile!” Steve gasped as he fought to keep it down. Years of forcing down disgusting food meant he was successful, but he had to dial his sense of taste right back. 

“It tastes how diarrhoea smells.” Bucky complained, his body shuddering as he stared down his next spoonful. 

Jim retched, clamping a hand over his mouth as he shivered. Gabe moved his friend’s bowl away so it didn’t spill before reaching over to pat his back. “Keep it down! We haven’t got rations anymore!”

That was a sad truth, Steve mused as he struggled to swallow. “I think the texture is worse than the taste.” He grumbled, mentally railing against the fact that he had to eat more than the others. 

“I’m trying not to taste it.” Bucky muttered quietly to him, smiling slightly despite the fact that he still had more than half a bowl left.

Steve managed a grin. “Me either.” Though he had an advantage the others didn’t: the ability to dial back that particular sense. He stirred it before measuring out another spoonful. “Falsworth is never allowed to cook again.”

“I’m not sure if this is a family recipe or if he’s just real bad at cooking.” Bucky retorted with a grin, loud enough that Falsworth squawked indignantly at them. 

“Which d’you think is worse?” Gabe asked, sniggering slightly. “The idea that Falsworth is actually this bad at cooking, or the idea that he’s a good cook and he had to grow up eating food that tastes like this.”

“You bastards.” Falsworth grouched good-naturedly, but even he couldn’t quite hide his grimace as he ate. “We were missing a few important ingredients. I had to improvise.”

“It’s impressive how bad this is.” Steve said as Jacques got up to go retch into a bush. “Did you use the last of our rations on it?”

“Not all of them.” He answered with a wry smile. “I used the meat from those rabbits we got and the last of the powder we got back in France.”

“So we have a chance that tomorrow’s dinner will be edible?” Dum Dum asked as he put down the empty bowl and sipped from his hip flask. “Oh, that helps. Here.”

Steve took the flask and sipped it. He never been any good at recognising the different spirits from taste alone, but it helped to wash his stew down. “Thanks. Here, Jim.”

“Didn’t we agree to take him off the cooking rota last time?” Bucky whined as he took the flask off Jim. “I’m sure I remember saying he’s not allowed to cook anymore.”

“That was horrible.” Jacques moaned as he curled up under his blanket. 

“I forgot about that.” Falsworth admitted, scratching as his head as he flopped back onto the ground. “Hope we find this base tomorrow.”

“I hope they have rations stored away,” Gabe jibed as he began to gather the bowls up. “I’d happily empty my pack if it meant I could fill it with stuff to eat.”

“We’re following the river.” Steve pointed out as he stood up and stretched his legs. “Unless Hydra are hiding their own bases from themselves then it’ll be there.”

“It’s not that I’m worried the whole base had gotten up and wandered off.” Falsworth retorted with a smirk, and Steve was close enough to feel his amusement along their bond. “It’s more your ability to remember a map that we no longer have.”

“Still sorry.” Jacques called out, his eyes shut as he rested.

“Steve always had a good memory.” Bucky defended him loyally, flicking a small clump of dirt at Falsworth and hitting him in the side of the head. “When he noticed stuff, he’s good at remembering it.”

“I’ll still follow you, Captain Rogers.” Gabe hollered out, his serious tone ruined by the grin that was splitting across his face.

“To the end of the line.” Bucky whispered as Steve dropped onto the ground beside him. 

“Jim, Dum Dum, you get to keep a look out first.” Steve stated as he began to tug his blanket out of his pack. “Then Gabe and Bucky, then me and Falsworth.”

“Yes sir.” Came back in various intonations as Bucky smiled at him.

“Giving Jacques a night off?”

“I know it’s his turn tomorrow, but he can swap. I’ll get a full night tomorrow, but I don’t want him getting sick.” The blond shrugged as he stretched out beside his friend. 

“If it saves him from heaving up then I don’t much care.” Bucky sighed as he covered himself up with his patched blanket. “Good night, Steve.”

“God bless.” Steve murmured back as he relaxed, trusting his team while he slept. It had been months since they’d come across the base of the other Schmidt, and since then they’d only encountered small out posts. They were taking Hydra down, one bit at a time, but their insistence that one head was replaced by two? Well, Steve really wanted to find the source of it all, Johann Schmidt, as take him down. 

\------

“Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone at Coney Island?” Bucky asked as they stood waiting for a train.

“Yeah, and I threw up?” Steve could recall. It had been the summer after his Ma had died and Bucky had been determined to make him smile again.

“This isn’t payback, is it?” Bucky had never enjoyed throwing himself off heights in the same way that Steve now did. But Steve really, really did enjoy it… and sliding down a cable from the side of a mountain onto a moving train was going to be good.

“Now why would I do that?” He asked with a smirk.

“We were right.” Gabe said from behind them, as he listened in on the radio. “Doctor Zola’s on the train. Hydra dispatcher gave him permission to open up the throttle.” Gabe straightened up. “Wherever he’s going, they must need him bad.”

Steve nodded, grabbing his gear and moving to the cable.

“Then let’s get going because they’re moving like the devil.” Falsworth said as he lowered his binoculars. 

“We only got about a ten second window.” Steve reminded them. “You miss that window, we’re bugs on the windshield.”

“Mind the gap.” Falsworth joked as Steve got ready to move.

“Better get moving, bugs.” Dum Dum called from behind Steve as Jacques shouted for them to go.

Steve went first, sliding down the cable and landing nimbly on the roof of the train as Bucky and Gabe followed. Once they were all in position, he began to move as quickly as he safely could further up the train. Leaving Gabe on top, he and Bucky headed inside.

In silence, they made their way through the cars, their bond thrumming comfortably between them which was always a comfort when they were working. The Hydra weapons always had an odd smell to them, and as soon as he noticed it, Steve turned to look at Bucky. 

But it was a moment too late, a door shut between them and as he watched Bucky raise his gun, Steve heard someone stepping into the other end of his car. Using his shield for cover, he crouched down and shot at the enemy. 

Dispersing yet another shot with his shield, Steve ran towards him and kicked him in the chest. Then with his foe down, he used the man’s weapon to clear a path to Bucky. 

“I had him on the ropes.” Bucky jokingly complained once they had taken down the other guy.

“I know you did.”

But Steve quickly realised he should have disarmed his foe, or actually killed him when the man made an appearance again, shooting his weapon as Steve shoved Bucky out the way. Having had no chance to brace himself, Steve dropped his shield and hit the wall as the deflected blast tore a hole in the side of the train.

“ _Kill him! Now!_ ” Zola commanded over the speaker, but Steve heard Bucky grab the shield and shoot at the man instead.

Another blast of the weapon was again blocked by the shield Bucky held, but the force of the blast threw him backwards. Steve threw his shield, knocking the guy out again and he ran to the gap.

Bucky was still there, hanging on to a metal bar… but Steve was too slow. 

He didn’t reach him in time.

Bucky fell.

While he didn’t feel his sentinel die, he honestly wasn’t sure if the serum would let him feel that particular trauma… still, it took Steve a long time to shuffle back inside the train and sit on the floor.

His head ringing and his vision spotty, he stared at the flickering landscape as it rushed by. He couldn’t bring himself to search their bond to see if he was alive… couldn’t currently remember how to search their bond.

He felt sick.

Further down the train, he could hear Gabe capturing Zola, but Steve couldn’t make himself get up and go help like he was supposed to. 

He continued to stare at nothing until Falsworth was guiding him off the train. 

“Come on.” He whispered, to him.

“Where’s Bucky?” Someone asked.

“Fell.” Steve said.

He was hustled back to London, though he could remember none of the journey. He sat and thought of all the ways Bucky could have survived, the thought that he had landed on a ledge and was waiting for Steve to come get him.

As the others went to talk to Philips and the other commanding officers, Steve glared at the wall, annoyed at himself for giving up so quickly, at his men for being so gentle with him, at everyone in the area, because maybe if they had gone back, they could have found him.

By the time Peggy found him, sitting in the ruins of the pub he used to sit in with Bucky when they were in London, he felt utterly miserable. After all, he had no one to blame but himself for Bucky’s death.

“ _Your attention, please. All citizens shall remain indoors until further notice. Blackout is still in effect in the London area. Please wait for the all clear._ ” The radio informed everyone, but to Steve it was little more than background noise.

“Doctor Erskine said that the serum wouldn’t just affect my muscles, it would affect my cells. Create a protective system of regeneration and healing. Which means I can’t get drunk.” He told her, before she could even say anything; it seemed important to explain the main problem first. “Did you know that?”

“Your metabolism burns four times faster than the average person. He thought it could be one of the side effects.” She said, picking up a chair from the floor, setting it up right and sitting down.

“Side effects.” He muttered, staring unhappily at his glass. “He didn’t exactly get a chance to explain them all to me.”

“We had discussed it in depth on numerous occasions if you want…” her voice was soft, but she was looking at him with those gentle eyes… Maybe it was better to let her talk; he was less likely to end up shouting that way.

“What side effects?”

“It was actually Howard who wondered if you would become a sentinel. Erskine thought you would be a guide and I thought you would be both.”

Steve laughed a little bitterly. “Only one guy who was ever both, but he wasn’t just a guy.” After all, the church taught that Jesus had been a guide and a sentinel, but he had been able to balance himself out, instead of needing a bond with others to keep him right. Steve was a guide and a sentinel, but he still needed a guide to help him when he tried to focus in on little things, someone to keep him connected to his own body. Most guides didn’t need a bond in the same way sentinels did, which was fortunate because there were more guides than sentinels. However, some apparently lost themselves in the spiritual world and struggled to return without a bond to a sentinel to pull them back.

“But we know about that side effect now. We… well, we aren’t sure if we’ll ever be able to drug you if you end up in pain.”

“Like the alcohol?” He guessed.

“Yes.” She frowned at her hands which rested on the edge of the table. “Have you ever heard of the Theory of Evolution by Charles Darwin?”

“I’ve heard of it.” He said, finally raising his head to look at her. “Something to do with monkeys, but that’s all I know.”

“Well, the idea is that a long time ago, humans were once very similar to monkeys, but over time we… changed… Lost the fur, stopped living in trees, began to write and use language more specifically, that kind of thing?”

“Okay?” He poured himself another drink.

“And you know that monkeys, chimpanzees, those kinds of… animals, that they are the only other creatures that appear to have sentinels.”

“I think I remember something about that. There was something in the newspaper a few years ago about a guy trying to show they had guides too.” It didn’t really burn going down his throat anymore.

“Yes, and people objected to the idea that some monkeys could reach the spiritual realm when there are so many mundane people in this world who can’t.” She gave a sad smile, and Steve remembered that she was one of those mundane people. Now that Bucky was gone, he could tell her that he never had been; Bucky couldn’t be arrested for lying now that he was dead. 

“Well, male sentinel monkeys can give birth.” She said, and Steve’s jaw dropped at the unexpected direction, his face flushing red and she startled him out of the numb bubble he’d been in.

“What?”

“I just…” Her gaze drifted around the empty pub, checking they were alone. “Long before we knew who was going to receive the treatment, we talked about it. There is a theory that male human sentinels were once able to bear children too.” She had gone red as well, but she seemed determined to tell him about it.

“I- I don’t suppose we’ll ever know.” He stuttered out, staring wide eyed at the glass in his hand.

“No. I just thought you might like to know all our thoughts about side effects.”

As a distraction from how he’d let Bucky die, no doubt; he couldn’t help the heavy sigh as he recalled why he was here.

“It wasn’t your fault.” She said softly, apparently perfectly aware of what he was thinking.

“Did you read the report?”

“Yes.”

“Then you know that’s not true.” He said plainly, feeling a flush on his cheeks, this time because he was trying to not cry.

“You did everything you could.” She said, her soft voice as confident as ever. “Did you believe in your friend? Did you respect him? Then stop blaming yourself. Allow Barnes the dignity of his choice. He damn well must have thought you were worth it.”

She wasn’t wrong. Bucky had always had more loyalty than common sense. “I’m going after Schmidt.” He informed her of the decision he had made while sitting here, that maybe things would be okay if something like Hydra got taken down in response to Bucky’s death. “I’m not going to stop until all of Hydra is dead or captured.”

“You won’t be alone.” Peggy promised.

\------

The plan to finish taking down Hydra was simple enough. There was only one major base left, in the Alps, where the Valkyrie, the airship with bombs was set to launch from. The easiest way in, Steve decided, was to let himself be captured because Schmidt was determined to see some sort of connection between them; he wouldn’t leave Steve on the base and launch his weapon without coming to gloat in the face of the man who was made to be an improvement on him.

Howard had called him suicidal before he had gone, then pulled him into a tight hug and told him not to die. Hell, maybe he wasn’t feeling too stable after Bucky’s death, but the knowledge of how close they were to actually stopping Hydra had spurred him on.

He took out as many of them as he could before getting captured and led straight to the man of his nightmares.

“Arrogance may not be a uniquely American trait but I must say, you do it better than anyone.” Schmidt said by way of greeting as he strolled over to Steve. “But there are limits to what even you can do, Captain.” He scoffed. “Or did Erskine tell you otherwise?”

Steve might have agreed if the plan was to take the base on his own, rather than provide a distraction. “He told me you were insane.” He had to fight to keep the manic grin off his own face. Something about staring danger in the face always got his heart beating.

“Ah. He resented my genius and tried to deny me what was rightfully mine, but he gave you everything.” He looked Steve up and down, as though genuinely confused by him. “So, what made you so special?”

He couldn’t help the slight snort. “Nothing. I’m just a kid from Brooklyn.” Just shy of twenty three and he got to stare down a true monster; that had to be more bad luck than anything special.

It was apparently the wrong answer, nothing Schmidt could work with and his enhanced anger led to him using his fists instead of his words, just like any other bully; it was hard to respect that kind of a man.

“I can do this all day.” Steve smirked, giving him the line he gave to all the bullies. Schmidt didn’t get it, but he didn’t need to. Steve knew what he was… a plain old bully who couldn’t resist the chance to brag. 

“Oh, of course you can. Of course but unfortunately, I am on a tight schedule.” But he had wasted too much time and the Howling Commandos were in position, hopefully leading several other squads along too. 

“So am I.” He said, when Schmidt’s sentinel senses picked up on the approach of Steve’s back up.

“Rogers!” Falsworth shouted over the gunfire that had erupted with their entry. “You might need this.” He threw Steve’s shield to him with a grin.

“Thanks!” Steve yelled as he ran out the door, using his sense of smell to track Schmidt’s path. 

He found him quicker than expected because Schmidt must have encountered troops and double back. However, he had grabbed one of his strange, blue weapons and kept firing it behind himself so Steve found he had to run with his shield up as protection. When he realised the man was getting ahead, he threw it which blocked the door but left him without an easy way passed the next soldier he encountered, who blocked the path with flamethrowers.

“Oh geez!” He gasped as he crouched behind the support pillar, trying to decide how to take him down.

Gunfire eliminated that problem as he heard someone else take him out. Peggy! He’d recognise her anywhere!

“You’re late.” He said, stopping to stare up into her eyes. He could hear her breathing stutter as she saw him, the slight smile on her lips.

“Weren’t you about to…?”

“Right.” No time for romance, no matter what he had read in his stories. Grabbing his shield, he ran into the hanger bay, where the Valkyrie was moving and soldiers were fighting.

There was no time. Clenching his fists, he began to run, knocking Hydra soldiers out the way when they came for him, but he soon cleared most of the fighting to find he was too slow to catch up.

Panting, he stared at the ship as a car stopped beside him.

Philips and Peggy stared over at him. “Get in!” yelled the colonel, and for once, Steve didn’t hesitate to follow orders.

As Philips used a booster to increase the speed, Steve stood up, ready to jump out. “Keep it steady.” He yelled.

“Wait!” Peggy shouted, before pulling him down into a kiss; a simply press of lips that burned through his veins in a way nothing else ever had. “Go get ’em.”

Steve took a moment to collect himself, stunned at how perfect something so simple could be.

“I’m not kissing you!” Philips said, jolting Steve out of it. 

He slid out the car, attaching his shield to his back as he carefully edged his way to the front of the car and, just before the end of the runway, he jumped and scrambled inside. 

Boston, Chicago, New York… there were the little planes he had seen nearly sixteen months ago, but he now knew there were bombs intended to destroy who cities. He shivered but moved quickly to take out the approaching pilots. One knocked off the walkway as Steve kicked him hard in the chest, another with got a knife in his back, another tried climbing into the bomb for Chicago, but Steve managed to drop it out of the aircraft pilotless, the man intended for it falling through the gap too, then throw a second man down through there.

One of the two remaining pilots got into the plane for New York, and the other pilot tackled Steve as he tried to pull him back out. He dropped his shield in the aircraft, and then all three of them were falling, one in the pilot seat and himself and the other pilot clinging to the bomb. 

The pilot on the outside didn’t last long, and without someone to fight, Steve managed to open up the cockpit and eject the other pilot without trouble. Jumping into the cockpit himself, Steve wasn’t any kind of a good pilot and he didn’t exactly land in the hanger bay with elegance, but nothing exploded so he simply got out, retrieved his shield and hurried on.

He crept quietly onto the bridge, considering the pilot’s chair for a moment before deciding it was empty. As he turned he heard Schmidt approach and lifted his shield just in time to deflect a blue blast from his weapon. 

“You don’t give up, do you?” Schmidt shouted, but he sounded amused rather than annoyed.

“Nope.” Steve admitted as he ran towards him, managing to disarm him with a swing of his shield.

He lost his grip on his shield, but exchanged blows with Schmidt anyway, trying to keep him away from his weapon. Wrapping his arms around the man’s torso, he kicked against a metal strut, pushing them backwards; Schmidt lost his balance and they rolled over the glowing, blue core in the middle of the room. 

Grabbing his shield as he scrambled up, Steve swung it. But the problem with fighting another sentinel was he could see movements as quickly as Steve could; the problem with fighting another super soldier was he was easily as strong as Steve… Schmidt definitely at least cracked some of Steve’s ribs with his punch, then he managed to shove him back. 

Refusing to give up, Steve pushed him hard, stumbling backwards to the floor as Schmidt landed on the controls in front of the pilot’s chair. As the ship began to plummet, Steve tried to get the better of Schmidt, punching whenever he tumbled close enough, but maybe it was good Schmidt got to the controls because he managed to level the plane out. 

As Steve hid, Schmidt pulled out another weapon.

“You couldn’t have the power of the gods!” He yelled. “Yet you wear a flag on your chest and think you fight a battle of nations!”

Steve wondered if that was part of why Schmidt hated him so much; the idea of wasted potential. He kept back, watching the other man and dodging his shots as he tried to decide what to do. 

“I have seen the future, Captain! There are no flags.”

Steve edged closer to his shield, which would deflect that weapon. “Not my future!” He yelled, before diving for his shield, deflecting the next shot then throwing it to knock Schmidt off his feet. It bounced off the core in the middle of the room and some kind of electricity seemed to spark out from it.

“What have you done?” Schmidt whispered, picking up the glowing blue cube that had fallen out. “No!”

The cube seemed to get brighter, sparks jumping off it and spreading out in the air. Steve gazed in wonder as he saw the night sky more clearly than he ever had, even when he’d been in London during the black out. There weren’t just stars, there were strange clouds of orange and red and blue that didn’t look like any clouds he’d ever seen before. 

The cube seemed to emit a light like a flash light, pointing in one direction as Schmidt’s skin seemed to burn and he yelled. For a moment, it looked as though Schmidt was also changing into a light that was shining upwards, then Steve shut his eyes as the brightness burned. 

A moment later and the light faded, then the cube burnt through the floor of the plane. Choosing not to worry about it, Steve grabbed his shield and headed over to the pilot’s seat. He tugged off his helmet, sat down and checked the flight plan… which was not good.

Spotting the radio, he changed the frequency and began to speak. “Come in, this is Captain Rogers. Do you read me?”

“Captain Rogers.” Jim’s voice was a welcome change to Schmidt’s. “What is your loca-”

“Steve, is that you? Are you alright?”

Peggy’s was an even more welcome voice. “Peggy! Schmidt’s dead.”

“What about the plane?”

“That’s a little bit tougher to explain.” It wasn’t a long one, but he had no time… There were still six bombs in position and then the seventh that Steve had crashed back on board.

“Give me your co-ordinates. I’ll find you a safe landing site.”

“There’s not going to be a safe landing but I can try and force it down.” He guided the plane's nose towards the Earth, but it was a battle to keep it aimed that way.

“I-I’ll get Howard on the line. He’ll know what to do.” She sounded scared, and the thought of his guide turned Steve’s stomach; Howard had no super serum to protect him from Steve’s death. They were good friends and this was going to tear his guide in two… Steve just had to hope he’d survive. 

“There’s not enough time. This thing’s moving too fast and it’s heading for New York.” He took a deep breath, ignoring the pain from his ribs as he looked out over the clouds. “I gotta put her in the water.”

“Please don’t do this.” Peggy begged, and Steve wished more than anything he could do that. “We have time. We can work it out.”

“Right now, I’m the middle of nowhere. If I wait any longer, a lot of people are going to die.” It was terrifying, but there really was no other option. “Peggy, this is my choice.” He’d die before he willingly killed someone innocent, and he couldn't let go; Schmidt had done something and the Valkyrie leveled out every time he let go of the yoke. He needed to keep it pushed forwards to keep the nose down.

He heard her sniff, a dainty little thing that broke his heart. 

He put his compass up, so he could see her picture. 

“Peggy.” He said as he dipped the plane again, determined to do the right thing.

“I’m here.”

“I’m gonna need a rain check on that dance.” He gasped as the icy water came into view.

“All right.” Her soft voice was beautiful. “A week, next Saturday at the Stork Club.”

“You got it.” Steve said, trying to see the club rather than the growing expanse of ice.

“Eight o’clock on the dot. Don’t you dare be late. Understood?”

It was just white now, the cold air rushing up to meet his face. “You know, I still don’t know how to dance.”

“I’ll show you how.” Steve could only just hear her over the roaring wind with his sentinel hearing. “Just be there.”

“We’ll have the band play something slow.” He kind of wanted to shut his eyes, to block out the white, but they seemed to be frozen open. “I’d hate to step your toe-”

He finally met the white and was flung across the room, his head smashing painfully into solid walls as his body followed, like a rag doll in a dropped box. For a moment, the plane stopped and Steve gasped onto the bit of floor he’d ended up on, then the ice creaked and the aircraft slid.

Looking up, Steve could see his shield. There was nothing to fight here, but he wanted it. In slow, painful movements he dragged himself, trying not to think about the trail of blood he was leaving behind.

When he was close enough, he could only lift one arm to reach for it, but once it was by his side, he relaxed.

That was it.

Too exhausted to move against, his eyes dipped shut at the icy water began to flood in through the broken windows. Thoughts of Peggy and Howard finding someone to dance with some comfort when he knew he wasn’t going to see them again.

He hoped they’d find the right partner.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony frowned as he leaned forwards, curious about the uproar that was blocking their car.

“Sorry, Boss. Some guy just ran out into the middle of the road.” Happy was explaining, but Tony was already opening the door. It wasn’t every day you saw Nicholas Fury on the streets of New York and Tony wanted to know what he was up to.

“Come on now, Captain. You’re making a big fuss around all these civilians.” Fury was saying, his hands held out in placating manner that looked odd on him.

“Well, as I live and breathe, Nick Fury?” Tony opened with mock surprise, faking an accent just to see the man twitch.

Fury scowled fiercely, but his gaze never left the soldier he was trying to calm. “Not now Stark. I’m a little busy.”

But his words alerted the soldier to Tony’s presence and the inventor found himself staring into a pair of incredibly blue eyes; they’d be beautiful if they weren’t half crazed.

The soldier himself wasn’t bad looking, a little on the short side maybe, but the tight, rain-soaked t-shirt that was stretched over his chest showed he was well muscled. However, the frustrated growl let Tony know the soldier was likely a half-feral sentinel; one who was moving cautiously towards him.

“Captain Rogers, please calm down.” Fury was saying, and Tony raised his eyebrow when he noticed the look in the director’s eye; he was worried. About what damage the sentinel would do, or about the actual soldier, he wasn’t sure but Fury wasn’t gaining the guy’s trust at all.

Tony stepped forward so that he was in the Captain’s eyesight before speaking, not wanting to startle the sentinel; a closer look showed the guy couldn’t even be twenty five, so a little on the young side for a captain. “I have a question here, and it’s not even why are you doing this dancing around in the rain in the middle of New York.” But the soldier glanced at him, sniffed the air then moved quickly, grabbing him around the waist and pulling him down against his chest. “Woah! Hey, buddy, what are you doing?”

“No.” Fury groaned, but Tony couldn’t twist enough to see anything but the sentinel’s t-shirt; there was a hand cupping the back of his head, holding him protectively. Tony could actually feel the growls rumbling in the man’s chest now. “Captain Rogers, put him down. I promise to explain what’s going on, but you need to leave him here.”

“Not without me.” The engineer spoke up before he could help himself as he felt something in his head fuse with the captain’s mind as the young man tucked his face into Tony’s neck.

“What?” Fury sounded genuinely surprised and the statement, but Tony could feel the panic in the sentinel’s mind starting to retreat. But the growls had settled to soft rumbles and he heard Fury sigh “You have got to be kidding me. Stark, Captain Rogers has just woken from a coma to find his guide is dead. They had a true bond. ” But Fury wasn’t foolish enough to step any closer.

“You got somewhere you want to go, or are we heading home?” He raised his voice and twisted his head to press his lips against the kid’s ear to make sure he was heard, still held tightly against him as he listened to Fury’s words, but he chose not to respond to them.

“He needs to come with us, Stark. Not you.” Fury said, his voice back to its usual calm drawl, but Tony twisted enough to see him glaring. 

“Whatever. Come on, buddy. I’m not really one for singing and dancing in the rain, so let’s move.” Tony said in as calm a tone as he could manage, not wanting to leave Captain Rogers with Fury and SHIELD when he still hadn’t managed to speak a single word; didn’t really matter who this kid was, apparently he was now Tony’s bond-mate so he was going to make sure the kid was alright.

Fury objected, but Tony ignored him and forced a grin onto his face as the sentinel let him pull back. “C’mon then, buddy. Let’s head off.” And meek as a lamb, with an unnervingly innocent, wide-eyed expression on his face, Rogers took Tony’s hand and trotted obediently after him. 

“Boss?” Happy twisted around to give Tony a perplexed look as the older man leaned over to buckle the kid in. “We dropping him off somewhere?”

Resisting the urge to make a smart comment in return, Tony nodded. “Yeah, back to the tower with me.” And a smile quirked at his lips when Happy simply nodded his head and began to edge their way through the streets, leaving an irate Nick Fury behind. 

Once they reached the tower, Rogers silently followed him through the reception area to the elevator; thankfully, Tony could feel his mind starting to come back online as he judged the immediate threat gone. It didn’t stop the ride up to his floors from being awkward though; Rogers hunched his shoulders slightly and stared intently at Tony’s face, making the man wonder if he was claustrophobic, but he didn’t ask. It wasn’t a slow ride like in most elevators so they were stepping out soon enough. 

Rogers’ cool hand still grasping his own. “You up to speaking yet?” He asked casually as he led the kid over to the kitchen area and shoved him into one of the bar stools at the counter.

The soldier opened his mouth a few times, then gave a rueful smile and shook his head.

“Okay.” Tony sighed, running a hand through his hair and casting a fleeting glance at the whiskey under the counter. Rogers had to be over twenty one, but maybe it was better to stick to water until he could talk again. Stepping over to the fridge, he poured them both a glass of cold water. “Here. So… Do you know who I am?”

He had to be totally honest, he hadn’t expected the kid to shake his head.

“Stark Industries? You heard of that?” Stark Industries had been around for ages, but maybe the kid’s memory was a little spotty after his coma.

Rogers tried to say something, managed a croak and then just nodded his head.

“Okay, well that’s me. My company.” He pointed to his chest when Rogers gave him a puzzled look. “I’m Tony Stark.” Rogers didn’t gain the look of understanding that Tony had expected. “Iron Man?”

“H-” Rogers croaked, before swallowing and trying again. “How’d.”

“Howard?” The captain nodded, his eyes slightly glassy as Tony felt an almost physical pain along their bond. “You remember my Dad? He must have died around when you were born.”

He’d died back when Tony had been nineteen; Obadiah had taken over Stark Industries until Tony had turned twenty one, but more than twenty years ago. Maybe Rogers had watched that documentary that came out after Iron Man became really popular, where they had talked the unclear beginnings of Stark Industries and how Howard had built it up.

Rogers stared down at his knees in silence, occasionally sipping his water. With how tense he was, how his eyes kept darting around, Tony had a feeling he was still battling fight or flight mode.

The awkward silence was short, but Tony didn’t like it. “What’s your name?” Rogers looked up, curiosity rippling lightly along their brand new bond. “Hey, if we’ve got a true bond, we should know things… like names.”

He put his glass on the side and muttered “S-Steve.” With his eyes still down.

“So, Captain Steve Rogers?” Like one of the Captain America guys from the comics: Captain America – Based on Captain Steven Rogers and Captain Peter Cooper. His Dad had hated the comics and had complained about how the real Captain America hadn’t looked like that, how he hadn’t been that smooth or smug… Tony had loved his comics all the more for his Dad’s disdain. Rogers nodded. “Excellent. We’ve got names covered then. You got any questions?”

“H-Howard? What happened?” Rogers was starting to shiver, his arms wrapped around himself as he finally lifted his gaze to fix Tony with an imploring look.

“My Dad? He died in 1989. A car crash.” His mom had died in it too; the idiot had probably been speeding on icy roads, but Tony had never read the report on it. Somehow, it still hurt; he was pretty sure he hated the neglectful bastard, but the fact that he’d lost both parents in one day was a pain he hadn’t managed to fully abate yet. 

Rogers’ jaw dropped; a look that shouldn’t have been as attractive as it was. “19… What year is it?”

“It’s 2012. April 19th, if you want to know.” The kid’s face was going grey as he stared in horror up at Tony. “It’s a Thursday.” He added, unsure of what exactly the problem was and how to fix it.

“What happened?” Rogers whispered, and Tony was actually starting to regret not talking to Fury; he had no idea who this kid was or what his problem was.

“JARVIS? Find out who he is and, you know, what’s going on.” The older man said softly, wondering if he should step in and do something as the kid began to gasp, his eyes staring blankly ahead. “How do I help?” He tagged on, not caring if Rogers or JARVIS answered, so long as he got an answer.

“I would advise helping him focus on his breathing, sir.” JARVIS suggested. “Perhaps getting him to use his senses to focus on other things, such as counting a specific number of things he can see and hear.”

“Okay. I can do that.” Maybe. How hard could it be? He stepped closer to the soldier and rested a hand on his shoulder; his distractingly muscled shoulder… in his tight, still-damp shirt. “Ro… Steve? Hey, Steve?”

Rogers didn’t answer, but he was warm to touch and shaking again.

“Hey, Come on, buddy. You listening to me? You’re breathing a bit fast there.” Tony rubbed a hand over his shoulder; he had no idea what he was doing. Their bond felt almost like white noise, everything churning up at once…

Shit… Fury had said Steve’s previous guide had died while he’d been in a coma. Tony had never even had a surface bond with anyone before, but he’d read up on stuff when he’d been identified as a guide; having a true bond cut off like that hurt like hell, some people couldn’t survive the death of their bond mate.

“Hey, you’re not alone Steve. Come on, not alone. I’ve got you. Deep breaths for me.” He stepped closer again, allowing his body to press against the kid’s as he wrapped an arm over his shoulders. “If you need me to count breaths, I can do that. But it’s probably better if you do the counting. Okay?”

His eyes were starting to dart around, his head moving slightly too. Hopefully, that was a good thing. What had JARVIS said? Breathing and counting stuff. Focussing on his senses, which was likely a good idea as the kid was a sentinel.

“Hey? Listen to me. Listen.” It was only years of practise that let Tony’s voice take on a commanding tone when he was this uncertain. “You need to count for me, okay? Look around and count three things you can see.”

“S-S-See?” The authority in his voice apparently helped as Rogers lifted his head enough to look at him; his eyes were still glassy, his breathing too quick, but it was a start.

“Yeah. Three things you can see. Name them for me. Go. Thing number one?”

“You?” Tony wasn’t sure if that was a proper response, but he was counting it.

“Yep, you can see me. Have a look around. What else can you see? Thing number two?”

Rogers took a deep, shuddering breath as he huddled closer to Tony, but his gaze moved away and looked around. “M-My water.”

“Last one?”

“Wall.”

Tony pulled a face that the kid couldn’t see, still on the bar stool but leaning over the arm to tuck into Tony’s body. “The wall? That’s what you’re going with?” Had he not looked outside? “Okay, three things you can hear.”

Rogers was silent for a moment. “Your heart and… something else?” Their bond was steadying as he pressed his ear to the older man’s chest, the blinding panic receding as he listened.

“It’s an arc reactor.” Tony informed him, unsure of how much honesty to go for. “It’s important for my heart… like a pacemaker.” He wasn’t up for casually discussing his kidnapping while trying to keep some army kid from panicking; that would be a long, alcohol-imbued conversation. “What else can you hear?” 

“Cars.” He said, though Tony couldn’t hear the traffic, maybe sentinel-hearing could pick it up. “Lots of them around.”

“In New York? Course there is. Last one?”

“There’s something under us making loud noises, kinda like a machine.”

That had better not be Butterfingers out of his charging station; last time he’d gone exploring without Tony around, he’d crashed into his desk and actually managed to put his claw through one of the screens. Tony had chosen to reduce the amount of hardware by getting rid of several monitors and adding in his hologrammatic screens after scolding the bot; it was usually his brother, Dum-E, that caused the problems, but the other two were in Malibu. Butterfingers was here for some repair work, and then had stayed as Tony was currently spending more time over here.

“Feeling better?”

Rogers nodded his head, but stayed where he was. 

“Tired? Hungry? Cold?” He asked, wanting to know if JARVIS had found anything so he could avoid sending the kid into another panic like that. 

A wave of exhaustion suddenly washed along their bond as though the kid had only just realised how tired he was.

“I have a guest room on this floor. You are gonna sleep for a bit while I make a few calls.”

And as docile as before, Rogers allowed himself to be led away. 

“Strip. I’ll go find you something to wear.” 

Rogers nodded and Tony headed out to his own room. In his house in Malibu, he had a range of generic clothing for men and women of any size, but Rhodey, Happy and Pepper were the only ones who had ever stayed at the tower. Any hook-ups here were brief encounters in hotel rooms because he didn’t have random people up here.

He grabbed a pair of comfy sweatpants and a t-shirt; the kid was shorter than him, but decidedly more muscled so he hoped they’d fit width-wise just fine. 

“Here.” He walked in to find the kid sat in a pair of undershorts… as in actual shorts; they nearly reached his knees; they were weirdly and adorably old-fashioned. “Those need to come off too or you’ll just get the sweatpants wet.” 

“But…” He frowned and hesitated, apparently unsure how to phrase his objection.

Tony simply handed the clothing over. “I met you today. I’m not lending you boxers. You can put your other stuff on when you get up. Should be dry by then.”

Rogers nodded and Tony turned his back while he changed. “Thank you.”

Tony normally hated other people trying on his stuff, but Rogers looked good; it send a possessive thrill through him that he stamped down before the other guy picked up on it. “I’ve got stuff to do. You sleep and I’ll see you later.”

With that, he gathered up the damp clothing and left the room, shutting the door behind himself. 

“Let someone know these need washing?” He called out to JARVIS as he headed to his room and dumped them down the laundry chute.

“Yes sir.”

“Did you get anything or do I need to call Fury?” He asked, staring longingly at his bed for a moment before heading back into the main area and over to the fridge. He needed a drink. 

“I have information, sir.”

“Including why Fury is so interested in him?” He dropped into a dry bar stool, folding his arms on the counter and dropping his head down.

“Yes sir.” Tony resisted the urge to snort as JARVIS paused for a dramatic moment. “One week ago, SHIELD received a call from a Russian oil team in the Arctic Circle saying they had found a man in the ice… and that he had a rather familiar shield.”

That sounded oddly… “Jay, are you trying to revive the original Captain America comics? Where he died crashing into a field of ice?”

Instead of replying, JARVIS brought up a video; the camera had to be a hand held one with the wonky angle, but it looked like it was filming a lab; in the centre of the lab was a huge chunk of ice. JARVIS fast-forwarded the video, which remained focussed on the ice, if you ignored the person stepping over to switch the camera off and on occasionally.

Tony’s jaw dropped when he realised there was a man in the ice, holding a shield; not the bright, colourful shield of Captain America and Captain Cooper, but one from the rare photos of Captain Rogers, with the dark blue circles in different shades and a grey star in the centre. 

“Do- Do we have any photos of the Captain Rogers from the Second World War?”

“No, but the Smithsonian did an exhibit several years ago, after Captain Cooper’s death as he left them his photo collection from his time as Captain America. There will be several there.”

He’d barely finished speaking when several old black and white photos appeared on the screen. Tony stared at the grainy faces, his eyes widening as he recognised the kid sat on the back of a jeep, a shield on the ground nearby.

“Well… shit.”

“Indeed, sir. Unfortunately, most of the files on him simple refer to the locations of paper files as they have not been digitalised.”

“Jay, call Fury.” He ran a hand through his hair, tightening his fingers on the strands as Fury answered.

“Stark. You ready to return my soldier yet?”

“We have a true bond, so traditionally he becomes part of my family. That makes him more mine than yours.” Tony retorted without exactly meaning to; this wasn’t why he called. “But really, the actual Captain America? The guy who actually did the stuff as opposed to the guy who did the posing?”

Fury was silent on the other end, and Tony could almost feel his glare from across the city. 

“What happened?” He wanted to see if Fury would lie or not, and how much the man knew.

Fury sighed but actually deigned to reply. “A team found him a week ago, frozen in the ice. We did have him in a room designed to look like a wartime hospital for when he woke up, but he figured it almost straight away.”

“And he ran.” Tony concluded.

“Straight into you… We have things set up for him so when he’s ready to head back, bring him over to us.” Fury was one step away from gritting his teeth. 

“He should stay here.” Tony scowled, standing up and beginning to pace. “If he woke up to find his old guide had died, he shouldn’t be away from his new one just yet.”

Fury’s sigh definitely had a growl in it this time. “I’m not saying we should separate you two right now. What I am saying is you can’t get him the help he needs, especially not without causing a massive fuss. That’s not what he needs, Stark.”

Tony hated to admit it, but Fury had a point. Sometimes, Tony couldn’t get a house visit from a doctor without the press wondering what was going on; the kid didn’t need to have the overwhelming fuss of the paparazzi focussed on him while he was adjusting to everything.

“Fine. We’ll head over eventually.” He signally Jarvis to hang up as he headed over to the elevator. “I’m gonna go do some work, Jay. Let me know when he wakes up.”

\------

The first thing Steve was aware of was the quiet. Warm, so he must have slept under a thick blanket but it was eerily quiet; no voices, no footsteps, no wind in the trees or rattling through the window frames… There was a pain echoing through his head, but he could almost ignore it in the haze of sleep; he sure was tempted to sink back down into sleep and enjoy the moment of peace, but he ought to radio in with base and-

Steve’s eyes shot open and he jolted into a sitting position.

Base was gone; long gone. He was stuck in the future in the home of the wrong Stark. The pain of his broken bond increased as awareness filled him and he fell back onto the swamp-like bedding, with a soft mattress and thick coverings that he struggled to free himself from. 

It was only when he tumbled out the bed and landed on the floor that he could catch his breath, his teeth chattering as he tried to stop trembling. “Okay.” He whispered, carefully trying to untangle himself from the bedsheets without tearing them. “Okay… That’s… Okay.” Not that anything was okay, but he forced himself to sit up, his back leaning against the bedframe as he wiped the sweat from his face.

“Good morning, Captain Rogers.” A soft voice spoke, apparently from a speaker located in the top left corner of the room.

He frowned up at it for a moment. “Who are you?” He wondered if there was someone watching him from another room; he couldn’t see any cameras but if that man had been telling the truth and it was now 2012, then maybe they could hide them in the walls with some sort of covering to hide the lens but not obscure the view.

“My name is JARVIS.” The voice replied calmly. “I run the house for Mr Stark. If you wish to use the bathroom, there is a door to your left. There is also a new toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste in the cabinet for if you prefer to clean your teeth before eating.”

“Thank you.” He said, trying not to feel overwhelmed as he stood up heavily and moved into the bright room, decorated using white tiles and glass. It reminded him of staying in Howard’s various homes, which always looked expensive and, no matter how often Howard had assured him it was all just _stuff_ , Steve had always been worried that he was going to break everything.

He turned and headed to the left, startling when the door slid to the side on its own. He stared into the room, trying to suppress the queasy feeling that was growing. “It’s kinda dusty in here.” He murmured, then jumped again when Mr Jarvis’ voice piped up from behind him again.

“Mr Stark does not usually entertain guests here. The few who visit often have their own rooms.”

“Is he a recluse?” he wondered aloud, waiting in the door to finish talking to the other man.

“No, Captain. Decidedly not.” Mr Jarvis sounded amused by that, and Steve felt a grin quirking the corners of his lips. “However, most of this Tower consists of the Stark Industries offices and most of the upper floors are Mr Stark’s home.”

“That makes sense, I suppose.” He admitted. Howard had been happy to have all the Commandos in his home in Italy and the small house he owned in France, but Steve alone had been allowed into his proper home, the one in Malibu with a gorgeous view of the Santa Monica Bay. It hadn’t been in a great state when Steve had been there, but he kinda hoped Howard had improved things there for when he lived there with his wife and… son? Grandson? Had this Mr Stark ever been there? How was he related to Howard? He could vaguely remember talking about his old friend the before sleeping… “Mr Jarvis? I don’t remember much from … this morning? Last night?”

“Considering the circumstances, I am not surprised.” The housekeeper relied. “And it is currently evening. You were only asleep for five hours and twelve minutes, Captain.”

“That’s only happened to me once since…” _I became a super soldier_ , but he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to discuss his true history with a house keeper. He hadn’t really been supposed to tell anyone at all during the war. He wondered if this Jarvis was the son of the Edwin and Ana Jarvis, the couple he'd hired a few years ago... Except not a few years ago, it had been more than sixty five years ago... That length of time? Maybe it was their grandson. Maybe they had shared some of his history, but it was best not to risk it. “Forgetting stuff, I mean. And that happened cos I took a blow to the head.”

“I understand.” Then Mr Jarvis was quiet for a few moments, long enough that Steve was wondering if that was the end of their conversation. Surely people still said goodbye at the end of a conversation like this? “Earlier today, you discussed Howard Stark.”

The pain that had been bubbling just below the surface, contained by the strength of his surprising new bond and strange detachment that he couldn’t seem to shake. “Oh.” He croaked out, recalling something about Howard dying. “He… He died, yes?” But Steve knew without hearing the answer; the pain weighing him down wasn’t something the serum could heal because it came from a broken bond.

“Nearly twenty four years ago.” Mr Jarvis’ voice was soft, with a comforting tone that Steve appreciated. “Mr Stark requests that you discuss Howard Stark with me, if you have any questions. SHIELD’s files indicate you knew each other but Mr Stark would prefer to not discuss his father.”

“Oh.” Steve murmured, leaning heavily on the doorframe as he realised Mr Jarvis must have been talking to Mr Stark when he had gone quiet. “So you know about…” He trailed off, unable to think of a good way to phrase it.

“We are aware that you are a soldier who crash landed in early April 1945. There, you were frozen by the ice for sixty seven years. You were part of the inspiration for the Captain America comics but very few people will recognise you as such because there were only a handful of photos released identifying you as Captain Rogers after Peter Cooper’s death in 2007. There have been other photos of you with the Howling Commandos group, however you were never named in them. It is now April 19th in 2012.”

“Sixty seven years…” He forced out, his voice stiff as he tried to imagine such a length of time. “I’m just gonna…” He mumbled, but Mr Jarvis said he could head to the kitchen when ready as Steve staggered into the bathroom, the door sliding smoothly shut behind him. 

Without even shoving his baggy pants down, he sat on the bathroom floor, beside the toilet with his eyes squeezed shut as he rested his elbows on his knees and hid his face in his hands.

Sixty seven years… He should have been approaching twenty three, not ninety! He shivered as he held back laughter; growing up, he’d always hoped to just make it to his next birthday and in the army, he just hoped to make it to the end of his next mission. He would never have thought he could make it to eighty nine. Never.

He hadn’t really expected to survive the war, but now he wondered what had happened in the end; he should have asked Mr Jarvis. Everyone he’d come across was speaking English, so they had probably won, or so he hoped. But even so, maybe after so much time, people simply got on with their lives, no matter who was in charge. 

What had happened to Howard in between the war and his car crash? He must have gotten married and had at least one kid, which was bizarre to think about; Howard must have met a pretty special dame to make the flirt settle down. 

And Dum Dum, Jim and Gabe; always chatting about their girls back home. Had they survived long enough to see them again? Jacques had had a family, a wife and a young son; what had happened to him? Had Falsworth stayed in France like he’d been considering, or had he moved somewhere else?

It was only when he allowed his thoughts to drift to Peggy that he noticed the tears dripping down his cheeks. It wasn’t fair! Peggy had been so beautiful, so perfect; she’d had a wonderful sense of humour and her smile, her firm conviction, her willingness to say what needed saying. He even missed how unintimidated by him, post-serum, she had been. But no, he bet she had gone off and lived a wonderful life with some other fella!

But the anger seeped out as quickly as it had come on. She’d be ninety one by now, assuming she was still alive; it would be awful if she had been unable to find the happiness of a family in all that time. It was just, Steve kinda longed for a family, for someone to stand by his side while they raised little people, hopefully with fewer troubles than his own Ma had struggled with… He hoped she had been happy after the war, but Steve didn’t suppose there was any way back to live that life with her.

He’d missed his chance…

He took a moment to compose himself and then used the facilities, including the minty toothpaste. Feeling fresher, he stepped out into the bedroom then looked down at himself. “Mr Jarvis?” he called out hesitantly, unsure if the housekeeper listened to the speakers at all times.

“How can I help, Captain?” The man seemed to be the vigilant sort as he replied promptly, but Steve couldn’t muster a smile at the idea yet. He honestly felt bizarrely tired in a way he hadn’t since going to war.

“Where are my clothes? And shoes?”

“They are being washed at the moment and will be returned when ready.”

Oh, that was surprising. His clothing had only been a little damp from the rain, it certainly hadn’t gotten muddy yet. “Can I head out the room like this? Will Mr Stark mind?” If the man was even around, for all Steve knew, Mr Stark had other appointments to keep instead of watching a lost soldier.

“You may. Your state of dress is acceptable and shoes are optional.” Mr Jarvis assured him.

“Okay. Thanks. What time is it?”

“It is 7:36 in the evening.” There was a pause before Mr Jarvis spoke again. “Mr Stark is in his workshop but will be heading up to the kitchen momentarily. If you head out this room and then straight down the corridor, you will reach the kitchen. You may help yourself to any food and drink that you wish.”

“Thank you. I’m gonna head out then.” He waited to see if the housekeeper would say anything else, then took a deep breath and headed towards the door, managing not to startle as it too slid back into the door frame when he approached it. 

He moved lightly along the corridor, his hearing tweaked to detect any slight noises as he followed the directions; not that he thought he was in any danger here, but everything was a little too unfamiliar for him to be comfortable.

“You know, those sweatpants are drowning you.”

Steve jumped violently at the loud sound. “Excuse me?” He glared as he squinted over at Mr Stark, carefully adjusting his hearing to normal levels. “You’re the one who gave me this clothing.” The man was standing in the kitchen area, leaning against a counter as he watched Steve shuffle over to stand a few metres away.

The grin twitching at the corners of Stark’s lips made him realise his new guide was trying to be friendly. “Well, you were sat on a stool earlier on. Didn’t realise you were so short.”

“Well, Mr Jarvis said that my clothing is getting cleaned and that these are acceptable to wear.” Steve replied, just managing to avoid making the statement into a question; he hoped Mr Jarvis was correct and his clothing wasn’t too casual. He had said that Mr Stark didn’t often have guests at his home here, so perhaps the housekeeper had made a mistake.

Mr Stark barked a laugh, genuine surprise and amusement flashing along their bond. “Mr Jarvis?” The man began to pour himself a cup of coffee from a glass pot on one of the counters, the smell catching Steve’s attention, even from the short distance. “JARVIS isn’t a person. He’s an AI; stands for Just A Rather Very Intelligent System.”

Steve frowned, but didn’t have time to ask before Stark was offering more information. 

“I don’t know how much you know about computers, but pretty much everything here runs on a system. He has all sorts of information going in, then he processes it and takes action as necessary.” Stark was grinning, and the dull look on his face transforming into a more upbeat, excited expression. “He’s basically got the mind of an assistant, so he can remind me about stuff, or send messages, or adjust things that are electronic, but he doesn’t have a body.”

“So… he can turn lights on and off?” Steve asked, trying to wrap his head around the idea. 

“All the stuff JARVIS can do, and you ask if he can switch the lights on?” Stark rolled his eyes. “Lights in the tower, yes, because I have it all linked into his system. If you bought a regular flash light that runs on disposable batteries from the shop, then no. He has no access to that.”

“So, he is a person who exists only on your… computer? System?” He barely knew what he was talking about, never mind the right terminology, but there was a fond smile tugging at Stark’s lips that Steve rather liked.

“You aren’t too far off. I made him and so a lotta people don’t count him as a person, but he is. He has learning systems and he’s changed a lot since I first made him.” Stark’s arms crossed over his chest as he glowered defensively.

“Okay, Mr Stark. I mean, I did have a conversation with him earlier on.” The young sentinel accepted, aware that he didn’t know enough to argue this point, but also aware that JARVIS had spoken to him and certainly seemed like a person in those moments.

“Mr… Call me Tony. Mr Stark was my father.” The man’s face twisted in displeasure and Steve felt a grin twitch at his own lips in response.

“The only Mr Stark I knew of was your grandfather and I regret not having the chance to meet him.” Steve grumbled softly before catching sight of Tony’s said eyebrow. “I don’t like bullies; I don’t care who they are, or how old they are.” 

“Huh…” Tony shifted back, his posture relaxing as he sipped his coffee. “My dad’s parents died in the late forties, long before I was born. I never met them.”

Steve nodded, feeling a little awkward as his ideas for conversation ran out. 

“So… you build stuff? Like Howard did?” He inquired eventually as he padded over in his long pants to sit on a stool by the counter. 

Tony poured out a second cup of coffee and handed it over. “Here.” He nodded Steve’s thanks away as he considered the question. “I wouldn’t say it was exactly the same. Dad mainly built weapons and the other stuff were just things he found interesting. But we don’t make weapons anymore.”

“So we… won the war?” Surely Howard would have refused to make weapons for the enemy. 

“The Second World War? Yeah, in 1945. There have been other wars since then, but I decided a few years ago that building more powerful weapons to blow people up? There are too many ways that can go wrong.” Discomfort and remembered pain and fear echoed along their bond, but Steve was busy fighting his own sinking feeling.

“But… It was… We joined more wars?” He wasn’t sure why he was surprised; people always found reasons to fight each other. The Great War had been the War to End All Wars, but that clearly hadn’t worked. 

Tony looked curiously at him, and Steve could feel the pang of sympathy that went through him. “Now I focus on tech. We build a lot of cell phones and tablets, ah which are communication devices; phones you keep in a pocket.” He pulled out a slim piece of what looked like glass with lines on it, which emitted a faint humming noise that Steve could only pick up with his sentinel hearing, barely distinguishable from the other electrical noises in the building. “It connects to the internet, which is like…” Tony hesitated for a moment. “I guess it’s like having access to loads of books and records, you can use a search engine to find information, and a lot of people use it to talk to each other and share photos and videos.”

“Huh.” 

“I’ll get JARVIS to help you with that at some point, Rogers. I don’t know if I’ll be any good at explaining basics.” Tony gave him an apologetic shrug, but Steve simply nodded. Howard had never been any good at explaining the stuff he made because he could never get to the simple stuff without getting bored or distracted.

“That’s okay. I like JARVIS.” Then he gave the man a soft smile. “And you should call me Steve.” It’d be nice to have his first friend in this new century.

Tony quirked a smile at him before continuing. “I also make Iron Man suits, but those are only for me and Rhodey, uh my friend.” 

“Iron Man suits?” Steve asked, as Tony was clearly waiting for the chance to explain, his warm brown eyes alight with his interest.

“They’re basically full body suits of armour. I don’t mean like knights in old stories, but like deep sea divers who go into the water, or the astronauts who went to the moon. It covers everything and can be made airtight.”

“People have been to the moon?” Steve’s jaw dropped at the idea, and he honestly wanted to hear more about that than some fancy new armour.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Like forty years ago. Trust me, it’s old news now. My suits, however, haven’t been around for five years yet.” Tony had a hand in the air as he spoke, apparently unable to keep it in one place. Steve had a feeling that he wasn’t a stand-still-to-get-your-point-across sort of fella.

“Sorry. I guess there’s a lot to catch up on.”

“Jay can help with that.” Tony assured him. “Tell you what, I’ll let you get something to eat and I’ll show you my workshop and my suits later.” 

“Thanks.” He nodded, taking a sip from his coffee cup and sighed at finding it was still warm.

Tony patted his shoulder and headed off to the elevator as Steve shut his eyes and let his head drop onto his arm, slumping over the counter as the new information swirled around in his head.

“The moon. That sure is something.” He mumbled into his skin, wondering how long it took someone to get there. 

As he tried to centre himself, he couldn’t help wondering what else he had missed. If people had been to the moon forty years ago, were there colonies up there now; or had they gone even further? Were people living on Mars too? Would he be able to step foot on another planet? The idea was actually kind of exciting, if only he could speak the same gobbledygook as Tony; what if that was how everyone spoke now? It was a little intimidating because he could tell Tony had been dumbing down his speech for Steve, and he had barely caught what he’d been talking about… which was a disappointing thought, because no one in their right mind would let someone who was so far behind out into space to visit another planet.

It was a few days later that Steve was jolted from his musings as the elevator doors opened and a tall man stepped out, his eyes quickly skimming the room until they landed on the young man, once again slumped over his arms on the counter. He hadn't had so much time to himself in years and he had no idea how to handle it.

“So, you’re Tony’s new sentinel?” The man asked as he strode into the room, his sharp eyes clearly noting Steve’s small but muscled form as he blinked away the haze.

“Captain Steve Rogers.” He introduced himself simply, holding out a hand to shake the man’s. 

He accepted it with a small smile. “Captain, huh? Army?” Steve nodded. “I’m Colonel James Rhodes, but just call me Rhodey.” 

Steve took in the smart, blue uniform with a slight grin. “Air force?” 

“Sure am. So, a sentinel? How did you two meet?” Rhodey asked as he headed over to the cabinet to pull out a glass.

“Oh, I just got back into New York. I got a little lost and he came over to join in the conversation I was having.” Steve stated vaguely with a shrug, unsure who he could talk to about his circumstances. “Then he decided I should stay here for a few days…”

Rhodey snorted with laughter, putting his glass of water down before he spilt anything. “Yeah, that sounds about right. I met him at college when he got his old roommate moved to somewhere else cos they didn’t get along.”

“Can you do that at college?” Steve wasn’t really sure how the college rooming system worked, but if he had to guess, he would have assumed it was like the barracks where you had to deal with where you were put.

“When you have as much money as Howard Stark? He may not have been the most… hands-on dad, but if he could solve a problem by throwing money at it, then he did.” A wry smile quirked the colonel’s lips as he shot Steve an amused glance. “Tony often tries to do the same unless someone points out a better way to fix things.”

“I’ll bear it in mind.” Steve assured him, his eyes flitting over to the empty coffee pot. He wanted a drink, but that thing looked a little too space-age for him. “Are you here to see Tony? He headed off to his workshop about a while ago.” Though Steve could tell from their bond that he was completely focussed on something that didn’t allow much chance for distraction, likely something on one of his floating computer screens that he seemed to like spending time staring at; they looked kind of like television screens, but they had coloured information scrolling across it and a keyboard made of the same solid light underneath it which looked like a super advanced version of a typewriter. 

“I’ll head down in a bit. JARVIS said he’s busy with something important right now.” Rhodey looked him up and down again. “I’d rather learn a bit about you.”

“Like what?” He asked, quietly annoyed at himself for not asking Tony if he knew what Steve was allowed to discuss with people.

“Where you from?”

“Brooklyn. You?” He asked, relieved that they were at least starting with an easy question.

Rhodey smiled slightly as he replied “Philadelphia.” He looked a little nostalgic. “When were you born?”

“I’ll be twenty three in July.” He side-stepped the question neatly, though he felt a little warm as he silently acknowledged the omission.

“That’s pretty young to be a captain.” Rhodey noted, but blatantly didn’t ask how he’d achieved the rank. “You like it?”

“I enjoyed spending time with my men.” He stated, avoiding discussing the actual work; his work had been necessary, but not the kind of thing you enjoyed. “But my guide died and I- He was -” He stopped as his voice rose in pitch, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to forget the idea of Howard having to carry on for so long with a broken bond.

“This… isn’t your first true bond?” Rhodey’s voice was soft, almost hesitant but Steve kept his eyes down and stared intently at his arms, at the way his hands looked as they spread flat on the smooth surface of the counter.

“No.” He managed eventually, his voice croaking and he shut his eyes again as they began to burn. “I met Tony when I woke up… they said I was in a coma when my – when he died.” Though he wasn’t sure how true that was; he’d expected to die, then he’d frozen… dead and revived was surely more likely than just a coma… He took a shuddering breath as the pain of his broken bond flared up, his mind unconsciously searching for that presence that had been a comfort since he had become a sentinel.

“Steve?” Tony’s voice called out as he stepped off the elevator and headed over. “Hey Rhodey. I wasn’t expecting a visit off you, was I? JARVIS? Did I forget a scheduled Rhodey visit again?”

“No, sir.” 

Tony’s hand were warm as they settled in Steve’s hair and pulled him back to press against his guide. “Didn’t think so.”

“No. I got a curious call off Pepper saying you’d cancelled a meeting because you’d found a sentinel to bond with.” Rhodey stated, but Steve could feel the happiness rolling off the colonel in waves; he blatantly approved of Tony’s actions and the notion that Tony might have someone new to care about.

“Found makes it sound like I was looking.” Tony grumbled, though he continued petting Steve with confident, comforting hands. “It feels too cliché to say it’s a happy accident, but that particular phrase wouldn’t be wrong.”

He was tempted to keep listening as the men began to talk, but he found that his guide was able to soothe away the worst of the pain of his broken bond but the absence of it combined with the relaxed atmosphere meant that he was seriously tempted to get some shut-eye with his face tucked into Tony’s neck like some kind of child.

With a sigh, he realised that he didn’t have a choice. Healing from serious injuries had always left him tired, even though he usually recovered pretty fast with the serum, but he supposed that he had a fair bit of sleep to catch up from as he’d not exactly been about for so many years.

It was another week until Steve got a chance to see Tony’s suits.

For the most part, he had spent his days so far trying to relax and failing. Now that his body had caught up on the rest required for his healing, insomnia and nightmares had taken over in equal measure. 

In his sleep, he would dream of the water, the ice, the wail of air raid sirens as bombs fell, the heat of explosions, the bodies of fallen men, the blood caught in cobblestones his skin peeling off to reveal a red skull of his own … then he hit a stage where he was unable to sleep when he lay down; the warm, dark room that should have been cosy left him twitching as his senses overcompensated and he found himself noticing the hum of Tony’s building wide computers, the chatter of people outside Tony’s living floors, the smell of the washing detergent as he buried his face in the bedding, the tiny motes of dust that were barely visible in the day that floated through the air, the encompassing darkness through which he could almost hear gunfire…

And so it continued and for two long nights, the sentinel soldier had battled with himself to try and get some rest while he had time. After all, Philips and Brandt had left him in no doubt that the US government owned him; if Nicholas Fury was in charge of a branch of the government then Tony would only be allowed to keep him away for so long, then Steve would be back to fighting, this time in a new and very different world.

The thought had him laying into the punching bag even harder, his fists flying as he tried to push the thoughts from his head. He had spoken to Fury yesterday, JARVIS had informed him the man was calling and so he’d accepted the contact. The man had at least been sympathetic to his circumstances, but he also had the demeanour of a busy leader who needed every soldier in the right place. Steve could only hide here for so long before his leave ran out and he had to get going.

Fury had also stated that staying in Tony’s tower was not going to help him adjust to the new world. In some ways, Steve agreed with this; he hadn’t left tower yet, even though there were a number of things he wanted to do. He wanted to have a walk through the streets, go to the corner shops, take a walk through Dyker Heights Park, go find a church to attend (and heck, he felt bad about that one because it was Monday now! He’d missed Sunday Mass twice just because he hadn’t dared to step out the building).

The chain on the bag broke again, and the heavy leather flew into the wall and toppled over. Panting, Steve crouched down and gripped his hair, trying to calm himself; he was hiding here, in a place where everything was provided and he had a guide who occasionally wandered through and was genuinely a quirky delight to have short conversations with. He’d used the internet now and JARVIS had been helping him look into changes to the world since 1945 so he wasn’t totally ignorant of this new century… but he also hadn’t looked up the Commandos or Peggy; he hadn’t been able to turn around and take a look back at a more personal angle to the things he had missed. He had no idea if they were dead or alive, or even which he would prefer! To have the past cut off so completely, or to be able to see how they had aged and moved on without him. (At odd points, the thought would catch him that maybe Peggy had married and had kids, had had that life that he had wanted with her, but he always shoved that notion away firmly. There was no point dwelling on it as he could do nothing to change it now.)

“You done with the violence?” Tony’s soothing voice permeated the sentinel’s jumbled thoughts.

Lifting his head as he wiped at his eyes, Steve gave the man a small smile. “Why? Need help with something?”

“I have a bit of free time if you want to come see my suit?” Tony suggested, and while Steve wasn’t really interested in a suit of armour, it was clear that this was important to Tony, his guide’s mild anxiety thrumming along their bond.

“Sure but I thought you were busy with your new energy thing.” He mused as he began to unwrap his knuckles.

Tony’s anxiety pulsed slightly, and Steve wondered if there was a problem with it. “Just waiting for Pepper to get some stuff sorted with that, then I need to do some work under the water with pipelines and voila! It’ll be sorted.” If Steve hadn’t been able to feel his concern at the mention of going under the water, he would have been completely fooled by the easy smile on Tony’s face; it was a near perfect mask of confidence. 

“Do you… Will that take you long?” Underwater, he meant… but maybe it was best not to outright state that; he wondered if, like himself, the thought of large bodies of water turned Tony’s stomach… And to be honest, he wasn’t sure he like the idea of Tony doing lots of work in the water with only a suit of armour to protect him.

“I should be able to get most the stuff underwater without needing to be there personally. I can send Jay up with a suit of his own to bulk of it, but I’ll need to do the delicate stuff.”

“You can give JARVIS a body?” Steve slung his bag over his should and followed Tony out. He needed to shower, but that could wait until after he’d seen this armour thing.

“It’s not quite like that. If it was going to be his body, I’d need to fully move him over. This is more giving him access to a body. There are routines in place in my Iron Man suit so he can control where I’m flying, for if I fall asleep in it, but they aren’t specific enough for him to do any kind of fighting or dodging in between things, on the spur kind of stuff.”

“Like trying to drive from the backseat, leaning over someone to control the steering wheel?”

Tony chuckled as they entered the elevator and the door slid shut. “That’s actually pretty close. You can’t shift gears, or easily reach the handbrake, but you can tug the car to one side or the other. I am working on it though, so that if I need extra backup in a fight, I can call on him to control my spare suits. It’s a pretty complex programme to try writing though.”

“Especially with your energy thing?” Steve supposed as he noted how tired the other man looked.

“You’re not wrong. I still have a bit to do with that. I also need to get people to come into the tower to actually work on converting it over. I could do it all myself, but it would take even longer that way.”

They stepped out and Tony led him through the reception area of his personal floors, a large open space with steps leading up to a big balcony. There was a kitchen on the right as you came through the foyer from the elevator and Tony’s bedroom Tony’s bedroom on the left. Up against the gigantic windows that opened the room up to so much light stood a red and gold robot. 

“This is my Iron Man suit.” He stated, and Steve could feel the nervousness rolling off Tony as he showed him something he was clearly proud of. 

“You fit inside?” He asked, not really sure how best to react.

Tony nodded. “Yeah. It took a lot of work to get it right, and I still change things when I find problems.” The man shrugged, but he was starting to relax as he chatted about something he was clearly passionate about. “You see, the main thing was getting it to fly. I was… I built the first one after I got captured in the desert, so I needed something to fly well enough to get me far from their base and across the sand without having to walk the full way.”

“You were captured?” Steve spun to stare at him, his eyes flitting over Tony’s form even though he knew the man had clearly survived well enough.

Tony gave him an awkward smile, but Steve could feel the ripple of trauma that likely originated from this event. “One of my own weapons blew up next to me. That’s why I have this to keep me alive.” He tapped the glowing disc on his chest. 

“What does it do?”

Tony’s face twisted. “It’s not really important right now.”

“So, it flies?” Steve prompted, willing to move on; they had known each other for less than two weeks, so of course the engineer wouldn’t want to give out such critical information to him.

“It flies, I have repulsors which use particle beam technology. But basically, they burn things.” Tony grabbed his wrist and pulled him along for a closer look. “With flying, I had issues with the atmosphere.”

Steve ran his fingers lightly down the suit’s arm, wondering how strong the metal was. “What do you mean?”

“I froze, the cold and the ice interfered with the systems and I came very close to killing myself when I fell back to Earth.”

“But you’re okay now.” Steve checked, uncomfortable with the idea that Tony might have died before they had ever met.

“Yeah. I sorted that. It also used to be vulnerable to electricity.”

“Doesn’t it run off electricity?” The soldier asked as he ran a finger along the seams between the shoulder and the arm.

Tony nodded. “It runs off my arc reactor.” He tapped the disc on his chest. “And yeah, but you can’t just shoot electricity at something and expect it to absorb it.”

“But it does now?”

“Hopefully. I’ve never actually encountered a situation again where I need to try it out, but it works in controlled conditions.”

“You don’t get into fights often?” He looked up at Tony, taking in his hair and posture… the man was an engineer rather than a soldier, so maybe he didn’t have to do battle too often.

“Not really. There just aren’t that many bad guys running around who need something like this to take them down.” A grin twisted Tony’s lips as he glanced outside. “I help the emergency services out, so this suit can become airtight to stop me breathing in smoke and JARVIS keeps the inside at a steady temperature. I also have screens inside the helmet for scanning, in case I can’t see very well.”

“You save people with it.” Steve concluded, a smile stretching over his face as a bubble of pride for his guide welled up within him.

“I try.” He ran his fingers through his messy hair. “Rhodey has a suit too for use with the air force. His sees more action than mine does.”

“For offense as opposed to defence.”

The engineer shrugged and headed over to the kitchen. “I guess so. Lunch?”

“Yes.” He grinned. Food was much tastier than he could remember it ever being in the past. “I just need to shower.”

“Go enjoy your two minute shower.” Tony rolled his eyes and Steve laughed as he left. Tony had mocked him several times over the week for how little time he took to get clean.

He was going to miss this when he had to go back to Fury and could only visit occasionally, like he had with Howard.

 

\------

“I’m not saying I want him to ring and update me on everything.” 

“ _I know, Tony._ ”

“But if he could maybe contact me at some point!”

“ _I know. But you have to remember that everything is different for him_.” Pepper’s voice was soothing, but she generally allowed Tony to rant and her calm responses typically made him feel better. 

“It’s not like people have to rent landlines anymore.” He complained. “I gave him a cell phone and both a simple explanation on how to use it as well as an instruction sheet. He knows how to get in contact.” He welded the final section of pipe in place and held still as JARVIS scanned it. 

“ _Tony._ ” He could tell from her tone that she was starting to get exasperated; lucky for him, she wouldn’t get angry back, especially over something like this. She was good at trying to understand other people, and she always pointed out the less pessimistic possible reasons for their actions. “ _For all we know, he’s been sat getting up to date on everything that’s happened since he… froze. That’s a lot to catch up on._ ”

The scan came up green and he headed up out the water. “He’s been gone more than three weeks.” He tried and failed to keep the hurt out of his voice. “And he agreed to stay in touch. I assume I’m not waiting for snail mail to arrive from him. Even if he’s busy with history lessons, he could text or call or…” He genuinely felt pathetic for whining about a lack of attention, but this was supposed to be his sentinel; this rare bond that only a tiny percentage of people ever experienced and the kid just wasn’t interested. 

“ _Tony, he just found out his other true guide is dead. Maybe he thinks it’s a little tacky to be replacing them so soon_.” And she actually had a really good point there. When the original Jarvis had died, Stane had suggested just getting a new butler to keep things in order, but Tony had been unable to even consider it… In fact, the next butler he’d had was JARVIS, his bodiless AI with the same accent but increasingly more sass. As he flew towards the tower, he tried to remember Jarvis’ smile, the subtle humour he’s displayed that the AI inherited in spades… If Stane had insisted to him getting a new butler before he was ready, he would have either got rid of the new guy or moved to another property too. 

“It’s good to go on this end.” He stated with a sigh to Pepper. “The rest is up to you.”

“ _You disconnected the transmission lines? Are we off the grid?_ ” 

“Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy.” He assured her, more than a little smugly. He’d buried himself in getting the changes actually finished after Steve had left, his procrastination techniques actually proving useful for once. 

“ _Well, assuming the arc reactor takes over and it actually works_.” 

“I assume.” He declared, aware that her concern centred on the fact that things occasionally exploded when he worked when distracted; his bot’s aim with the fire extinguisher was definitely improving though. “Light her up.”

Despite his melancholy thoughts of late, he couldn’t stop the grin from spreading over his face as the lights came on. 

“ _How does it look?_ ” Pepper asked, the eager anticipation evident in her voice.

“Like Christmas, but with more… me.” Was he smug? Yes he was, and rightly so. He’d trampled over the board’s objections to completely switching over their power source and it had worked. He could build an arc reactor in his sleep, knew how to handle any quirks and knew the shortcuts that could be taken in case of emergencies… but he didn’t exactly advertise to people what exactly the shining disc on his chest was, so he couldn’t explain why he knew all this without revealing an enormous vulnerability to the world.

And after Stane, he didn’t trust the world to know.

“ _We’ve got to go wider on the public awareness campaign_.” His CEO decided, her mind apparently already moving on from enjoying the moment. “ _You need to do some press. I’m in DC tomorrow, I’m working on the zoning for the next three buildings_.”

“Pepper.” He interrupted without regret. “You’re killing me. The moment, remember? Enjoy the moment.”

“ _I’ll let you have it this time_.” She laughed. “ _I’ll even put the decaf back in the cupboard._ ”

“Urgh, really? The D-word?” He moaned as he landed. “I don’t allow that kind of language in my tower. I demand you incinerate it.”

“ _Tony!_ ” She laughed. “ _This one tastes the same as your regular coffee anyway._ ”

“Better yet, bring it out here and I’ll incinerate it myself.” He began walking back inside as his machines whirred around him, removing the armour. 

“Sir.” JARVIS interrupted before she could answer. “Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line.”

“I’m not in.” He retorted without hesitation, still a tiny bit bitter that SHIELD had left with his sentinel. “I’m actually out.”

“Sir, I’m afraid he’s insisting.”

He kept walking as the final plates were pulled away. “Grow a spine, JARVIS. I’m about to have a moment with my fully caffeinated coffee.”

Inside the main living room, Pepper was focussed on the screens. She still wore a pair of shorts as a concession to the rising summer heat and Tony paused for a moment to admire the view. She really was gorgeous and he genuinely wished they could have made it work… but they argued too much and he valued her friendship more than he wanted to get laid.

Besides which, he had a full bond with a heart-stoppingly gorgeous young man; he wasn’t going to try for another relationship with Pepper when his thoughts were filled with someone else. Steve was both smaller and younger than what he usually went for in guys, but Tony couldn’t deny the slender form was well built; when he’d first brought the kid to the tower and dressed him in dry clothes, Tony’s own t-shirt had been a little baggy around his trim waist, but had stretched beautifully over muscled shoulders and firm pecs. Tony had barely gotten a chance to see if the personality matched up on a day to day basis as he refused to judge someone on their behaviour just after they woke up in the future to find everyone they knew was either dead or well on their way there. He was still a little pissed at Fury’s insistence that the kid should go back to SHIELD the moment their bond began to settle, only two weeks after they had met. He was going to give it another few weeks then see if he couldn’t talk Steve into coming back, because no one should have to live in housing provided by SHIELD when there were alternatives.

All that said, he had a feeling that Steve was a very easy man to fall for and if they started hanging out like a guide and sentinel ought to… well, he couldn’t ever date Pepper because she was just way too important to do that to.

“Levels are holding steady, I think.” Pepper stated when she spotted him, pointing to a steaming mug on the desk. On the table by the sofa, he could see the ice bucket with champagne, but he was never going to reject a cup of coffee.

“Of course they are. I was directly involved.” He grinned slightly as he swiped his taste of heaven and took a sip. “Which brings me to my next question. How does it feel to be a genius?” He leaned his ass against the desk and grinned over the rim of his drink.

“Well, I really wouldn’t know, now would I?” She raised her eyebrow at him as she tapped off the screen, barely hiding her own smile.

“What do you mean? All this came from you,” She was the one who had pushed him to focus, refusing to let him drink and wallow in response to Steve’s silence. She had supported his move to tech development as Stark Industries began making phones and tablets instead of weapons, she argued his case to the board when their stock had taken a dive, she’d spoken to the different government agencies (including SHIELD) to get them to buy his secure communication systems instead of his bombs and she had encouraged him when he’d started thinking about clean energy.

“No. All this came from that.” She said, a slight smile touching her lips as she tap a slender finger to his own arc reactor.

“Give yourself some credit, please.” He insisted; he would rather develop the tech anytime over having to talk to snobs in suits about why they should buy it. He just didn’t have the patience for that. “Give yourself twelve percent of the credit.”

As predicted, amusement blossomed in her eyes, though she managed to keep a straight face. “Twelve percent?”

“An argument can be made for fifteen.” He pointed out, grinning as he took a drink of his coffee and savoured the taste. 

“After I convinced the board to not just consider this but actually allow it? Twelve percent?” She headed over to the sofa and as the laughter began to show on her face.

“Well, I did do all the heavy lifting. Literally, I lifted the heavy things.” He downed the rest of his coffee, grimacing slightly at the burn of hot liquid before following her. “Also, the security snafu? That was on you.”

“Uh-huh.” She raised an eyebrow again as she poured a glass of champagne out, handing it over before pouring another for herself. 

“Do you think I should ring him?” He asked without meaning to, his brain going back to their earlier conversation.

“Captain Rogers?” She frowned, taking the question seriously. “If you haven’t heard anything by the end of the week, then maybe a call to let him know.”

“Let him know?” It was a long time since he’d been this unsure about a relationship of any level, not since he’d been a teenager with parents! Even when they’d argued, Pepper had taken a moment to let him know where they were at before she stormed out; Happy was both a good friend and employee, which he had been pretty much since Tony had met him at his job interview; and Rhodey had been his friend since they’d met at MIT. Tony trusted the three of them with everything and it was a little bizarre and almost frightening to think someone else might finally be joining that small circle.

“That you actually want to talk? That when he’s ready, you want to get to know him?”

“Sir? The telephone. I’m afraid my protocols are being overridden.” JARVIS spoke up just as Tony’s phone began to talk.

“Mr Stark, we need to talk.” 

Sighing, he picked it up and looked blankly into the camera. “You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark. Please leave a message.” 

“This is urgent.” The agent stated as Pepper quietly laughed, a broad smile lighting up her face.

“Then leave it urgently.” He insisted as the elevator opened and Coulson stepped through.

“Security breach.” He objected before pointing a fingers in Pepper’s direction. “It’s on you.”

“Mr Stark.” Coulson greeted and Tony didn’t necessarily mind the guy, but he preferred his visitors to be invited.

Pepper twisted to smile at the agent before standing up, saying “Phil, come in.” And Coulson stepped out the elevator as Pepper made her way over to him, her long, bare legs seeming a tad inappropriate when facing a guy in a bland suit… though he’d never admit it because Pepper didn’t need him to fight battles that weren’t even battles outside his own head; he did sometimes get a little protective of his circle, but for a CEO, an air force colonel and a bodyguard, they weren’t always great at looking after themselves.

Aware his thoughts were drifting into hypocritical territory, he stood up as well. “Phil?”

“I can’t stay.” Coulson was considerate enough to inform them straight away, making Tony wonder if he’d been cornered by Pepper before and found himself unable to escape.

And with that thought, he moved; he didn’t like the idea that Pepper was talking to SHIELD agents without him. “His first name is ‘Agent’.” 

“Come on in.” She welcomed, a warm smile still on her face. “We’re celebrating.”

“Which is why he can’t stay.” Tony plastered an intentionally fake smile on his own face, hoping the guy would stick to the idea that he had other places to be.

Coulson held up a black folder. “We need you to look this over as soon as possible.”

But Tony was shaking his head already. “I don’t like being handed things.” He didn’t make many genuine promises, but those he did he tried to stick to; and years ago he had promised Happy that he wouldn’t let anyone he didn’t fully trust hand him stuff. Sure it made him come across as rude sometimes, but people had issues with him anyway so this wasn’t really a big deal.

Pepper was aware of his agreement with Happy, and while she thought the guy was paranoid, she also never insisted Tony break his promise. “That’s fine, because I love being handed things.” She reached out and took the file off Coulson, handing the agent her flute in return. “So let’s trade.” So took Tony’s flute off him, handed over the folder and took a drink. “Thank you.”

“Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday.” He pointed out, a little bitterly. The only SHIELD business he wanted to know about was where Steve currently was, and he doubted that was included in the folder.

“This isn’t a consultation.” The agent said, not looking nearly as awkward as he should have while holding someone else’s champagne flute. 

“Is this about the Avengers? Which I know nothing about…” Pepper asked, her voice curious but Tony knew she had mixed feelings about the initiative. She liked the idea of having a specialised group to handle threats, but she didn’t like Tony being a part of it in case he got hurt because he apparently had the self-preservation skills of a lemming. 

Tony scoffed, opening the folder as he headed over to his desk. “The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought… and I didn’t even qualify.”

“I didn’t know that either.” Which was actually true; she knew what the initiative was but he hadn’t bothered to admit the issues SHIELD had with him.

He tapped the screen inside the folder, bringing up the folder options. “Apparently I’m volatile, self-obsessed, don’t play well with others.”

“That I did know.” His friend stated, and Tony didn’t need to turn back to know she was fighting back a grin. 

“This isn’t about personality profiles anymore.”

“Whatever. Ms Potts? Got a second?” He tapped into one of the folder’s labelled ‘Banner’ and noticed a large collection of reports, photos, video clips and other documents. “You know, I thought we were having a moment.”

“I was having twelve percent of a moment. This seems serious. Phil’s pretty shaken.” Tony could have questioned that because Phil seemed unbothered by anything, but he’d never been the kind of guide who was fully in tune with the emotions of others; he’d have to trust Pepper with her interpretation of his body language.

“How would you know if it’s- Why is he ‘Phil’?” A nickname again? The thought of them two hanging out enough to warrant nicknames was going to make him paranoid.

“What is all this?”

“This is….” He pressed his fingertips to the screen and flung it out, his own system fully compatible with SHIELD’s tech as his own holographic displays took over. “…this.” 

Straight in front of him was SHIELD’s file on Steve. Some of it he had seen already, the information on the Valkyrie, where it had landed and the state it had been in; it also had Steve’s official photo from his army days after he was promoted to Captain, decked out in the old-fashioned style and the schematic for his shield, the silver star surrounded by dark blues and greys, much less noticeable that the bright red, white and blue of the Captain America shield from the comic books he’d read as a kid. A glance around showed Natasha’s file, and he spotted a note that said she was a guide linked to Hawkeye; the unfamiliar code name was shown on another display, with a video of a guy using a bow and arrow, of all things.

“I’m going to take the jet to DC tonight. I’ll make a start getting the next building converted.” Pepper decided, as her wide eyes focussed on Steve’s file, the black and white video clip now showing a young man with a big smile, half hidden under the arm of another soldier.

“You’re leaving already? I thought we were having a moment.” He caught her amused glance before saying “I know, twelve percent, right?” before she could. 

“And you have homework. A lot of homework…” 

He nodded with a sigh. There was a lot to get through and then he had to go through SHIELD’s servers because he honestly doubted he’d been given full files for anyone, not even Steve. “Fly safe.” He commanded, a faint smile twitching at his lips; he’d been really looking forward to actually relaxing with a friend and talking things over. A lot of their talk recently had been about clean energy as opposed to anything more personal; the brief chat about Steve they’d had earlier was about as in depth as they had gone and he was sure Pepper had finally been going to tell him she’d started dating again (he knew she had because he kept an eye on his friends, but he never brought up things they hadn’t mentioned for themselves because he didn’t really want to get into a discussion on levels of privacy again). 

“Work hard.” She replied, before pointing a finger over at the food that was covered over on the table, waiting for them. “So, any chance you’re driving by LaGuardia?” she asked Coulson as she turned and headed towards him, reaching down to snag her shoes from beside the couch.

“I can drop you.”

“Fantastic.” 

But Tony’s attention had already moved to the files; the tests they had been doing with the Tesseract, the machine they been trying to use to harness its power, the way it had opened a doorway allowing Loki of Asgard to reach them… Loki apparently had a spear that allowed him to control people. Was he a particularly powerful guide and the spear enhanced his abilities, or did it give him new ones?

He tapped into the few notes they had on Loki linked to a file on Thor of Asgard, there wasn’t much in there, but it included notes that apparently they didn’t have sentinels and guides on Asgard. The thought that these ‘gods’ could be counted amongst the mundane was an interesting idea, but that meant it really was the spear that let him control people. 

He turned his attention to Agent Barton, he was a true sentinel to Natasha Romanoff and he was marked up as tricky to work with; Coulson was down as his handler and he would answer to Fury, but it seemed like he was too smart a guy to fully trust just anyone SHIELD sent his way. 

He headed over to the table and grabbed a bowl of pasta, taking the cover off and smiling slightly at the excess sauce and cheese over it; Pepper knew what he liked. He snagged a fork as he turned and headed for the elevator. 

“Workshop, Jay. I’m going to get stuff together.”

“Yes sir.” 

“Did Coulson say when and where I’m meeting them?” He couldn’t remember if the SHIELD agent had mentioned that or not. 

“On the first page of the folder, sir. Tomorrow but they haven’t discovered where Loki of Asgard is. You do have a set of co-ordinates which seems to be for their helicarrier, sir.”

He headed into the workshop, running his spare hand over Dum-E’s arm in greeting. “They told me where their helicarrier is?” That was surprising. Fury was normally very secretive about stuff like that.

“They only left you the co-ordinates, but I thought it prudent to find out what was at that location, sir.” 

He laughed, but quickly got to work, first checking on the state of the next building to be converted to clean energy while he ate his dinner, because he wasn’t sure how long this thing with SHIELD was going to take and he wanted things to be as easy as possible for Pepper. Then he hacked into SHIELD’s database and began to pull up their more in depth files. 

And that was interesting. Natasha Romanoff had a true bond with sentinel Clint Barton which had developed over several years from a surface bond they had had; but now her file had been updated less than an hour ago to state she had another true bond, this time with Bruce Banner, the guy who had tried to copy the serum that had been used on Steve.

Banner was a doctor and a scientist, and Tony had heard of his work in biochemistry, in particular the failed experiment that had led to his ability to become this ‘Hulk’. 

“Jay? How long do I have to look through this stuff?” he asked as he debate hacking into the more detailed files on Banner’s experiments; it was hard to believe someone with degrees in this crap would actually think the whole gamma-rays thing was a good idea… but he supposed that he knew better than anyone how hard it was to stop and think things through rationally when you were on a roll.

“They request you are there by noon, sir.” JARVIS replied. “As such, you have about three hours before sleeping if you are going to be at least acceptably well rested before heading out to the co-ordinates.”

“We’re hours off bedtime and you’re nagging already?” He asked, raising an eyebrow as he skimmed back to Clint Baton’s file.

It ended up being late when Tony got to bed but thankfully, once he eventually staggered out of bed, JARVIS had made the stronger coffee that he didn’t typically have made up unless Tony really insisted. The AI didn’t bother to explain why he was indulging the man, instead flashing up a problem with Tony’s current Iron Man suit. 

“Jay? I wasn’t asleep that long. What happened?” He frowned as he pulled up a detailed scan. It looked like the wires had snapped in the helmet, but the suit was far too new for it to be simple wear and tear. “Is this something to do with the salt water? I thought the whole suit was sealed up properly now.” He wondered aloud, thinking that taking his suit for a swim was the only thing he’d done differently with it in some time.

“No sir. The suit is sealed, but I believe there is a fault in the removal mechanism that got tangled.”

“Jay, this doesn’t look like something that got tugged out of place.” The material wasn’t stretched at all. “It looks like it snapped.”

“The inside of the removal mechanism is worse, sir. I’ll try to have the damage repaired while you are out, but it is extensive.” 

Expanding the scan of his helmet, Tony searched for the best way to remove the wiring without having to restart from scratch. “What happened?”

“There was an overload one of the generators in R&D, sir, which caused an explosion when you switched over the power in the building to the ARC reactor.” JARVIS sounded apologetic as he explained. 

“Some stuff got knocked out of alignment, huh?” He grimaced as he imagined the work he’d have to do in the small, tight space. 

“Yes sir.”

“Keep track of the helicarrier for me, Jay. I’m probably going to need to catch them up.”

He began to remove the plating to access the wires. He was going to have to pull a fair bit of this apart to get it repaired quickly and he would probably just build a new helmet altogether when he got back from this secret SHIELD meeting. He had another suit mostly complete, but he liked to know he had a backup suit around for if he needed it.

“There.” He said, several hours and one meal later. 

“Sir?” JARVIS asked as Tony scowled.

“Okay, Jay. Power it up.” He was almost tempted to cross his fingers as he waited.

He slid the helmet on, feeling the parts twisting to lock it in place. “Come on.” He murmured as the screens began to flicker. “Yes!” Everything seemed to be working. “JARVIS, let’s get the rest of the suit on and go.”

It was a shame he hadn’t yet had time to finish the Mark VII, which had a fault with the communications that he hadn’t been able to fix yet. But he would rather risk a problem with his suit not sealing up perfectly, which was the main problem originating from the snapped wire than being unable to contact anyone. He just had to avoid being underwater for too long.

Once suited up, he took off, flying through the sky as he let JARVIS navigate his way to Germany, apparently. He knew he was more than six hours late, but he wondered what he had missed and why the helicarrier had a course set for Stuttgart.

“Jay? Ask Fury what they are doing out here?”

“Shall I call him for you, sir?”

“I don’t want to talk to him.” He really should drop this grudge as Steve had agreed to leave when Fury had turned up to collect him several weeks ago, but he was nothing if not stubborn.

“What time am I going to get there, Jay?”

“About 1am, local time, sir.” JARVIS replied.

He grimaced. “Can we speed things up?” he asked.

“Yes sir. Normal flight time would take more than seven hours but if I keep track of airline communications, I should be able to increase your speed so that your reach your destination about half an hour after SHIELD does.”

“Autopilot on, then. I’m gonna try rest before we get there.” Which was change he’d made from earlier suits, long distance travel got uncomfortable so he had padded the armour out in places where he pressed the most against it. It was still a suit of armour, so it wasn’t exactly comfortable, but he could at least get some sleep in it for now.

As it was, he did at least doze while JARVIS took control, but he sure was hungry when he woke up.

“Sir? We are approaching our destination now.”

“What exactly am I flying into?” He asked, uncertain as to the situation.

A file appeared off to one side, containing a photo of a slimy looking guy with dark hair and eager eyes. “This is Loki of Asgard, brother to Thor. He destroyed SHIELD HQ and brainwashed a number of people, including Agent Barton using a spear. He stole the Tesseract.” Loki’s photo was replaced with the guy who had been shooting a bow and arrow in the files Coulson had given him.

The Tesseract was information Tony already knew having taken the time to read all the files Coulson had left him with, as well as following up with checking out his father’s files on the thing. However, he focussed on the picture in front of him. “Natasha’s sentinel?”

“Indeed.”

Loki didn’t seem quite as friendly as his brother, but Tony had only read about Thor so he couldn’t say for certain. “Awesome. Patch me through to their jet then play a little AC/DC for them.”

“Yes, sir.” JARVIS sighed, but did as requested.

“Hey, Agent Romanoff. Did you miss me?” He called out, grinning as he scoffed audibly for him.

“Playing ‘Shoot to Thrill’ for them, sir.” JARVIS stated as Tony swooped in to take a look. 

He scowled as he saw Steve on the floor, his shield lying some distance away and Loki standing over him, staff in hand. Flying down towards them, he fired his repulsors and blasted the alien out of Steve’s way. He spotted the kid jumping to his feet and grabbing his shield as he landed and showed Loki how armed he was.

“Make your move, Reindeer Games.” He dared, just wanting an excuse to have another go. The man’s armour dissolved and he held up his hands in surrender. “Good move.” But couldn’t completely ignore the tug of disappointment at the easy win.

“Mr Stark.” Steve said as he stepped up to him.

“Captain.” He replied as he looked the guy over. “That’s bright.”

Steve looked down at the uniform SHIELD must have provided. It was closer to royal blue of Captain America than the darker shades of his old uniform, and from the wince, Tony wasn’t entirely sure he liked it. “Yeah. They said they made it for me.” But he tightened his grip on his shield, which was still his vibranium circle with muted colours, and held it in front of his torso.

“You didn’t argue?” He asked as Natasha landed the jet behind them and they led Loki over to it.

“There wasn’t really time. I mean, who would I say anything to? Plus, it’s already made. I wouldn’t want to waste it.” Oh yes, he was a man from the Great Depression, where waste was on par with mortal sin.

“Find someone to mention it to anyway. If Fury is putting you back into active service then he would probably prefer you in darker colours.”

“You think?” Tony could actually feel the tremor of hope that rippled through the young man.

He nodded as the ramp pulled up and Natasha took off. “He runs a spy organisation. And this -” he waved a hand at Steve’s whole body. “- isn’t exactly subtle.”

“Coulson said that the stars and stripes are needed right now.”

“Trust me, Fury will not object to you sneaking about when you need to.” He assured him.

Steve nodded his head and stepped over to look out at the sky before them. “Thanks.”

“So, Loki, huh?” Tony said as he turned to address the alien on the jet. “What are you up to?”

The alien glanced up at him, smirked slightly, but then dropped his gaze and stared at the floor without speaking. 

“Nothing to say?” He asked as he heard Natasha talking to Fury in the front. 

“I don’t like it.” Steve said softly to him, his back to Loki as he spoke.

Tony had to agree. “What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?” He focussed his attention on Loki, watching the man as he sat in the back of the jet.

“I don’t remember it being that easy.” Steve insisted, confusion swirling along their bond. “This guy packs a wallop.”

“Still, you’re pretty spry for an older fellow.” Tony teased, trying to soothe his sentinel’s feelings without really having any idea of how to reassure someone; it wasn’t something he often tried to do. “What’s your thing? Pilates?”

“What?” Steve looked even more confused than before, but the fear that had been present underneath was dissipating, so he was doing something right.

“It’s like calisthenics.” Then fought a grin at the expression Steve was pulling. “You might have missed a few things doing time as a capsicle.” The jolt of misery let Tony know that mentioning ice might not be a good idea. 

Steve pursed his lips before meeting his gaze. “Fury didn’t tell me he was calling you in.” As though Fury was suddenly a trustworthy person who shared his plans.

“Yeah. There’s a lot of things Fury doesn’t tell you.” Tony stated as his gaze shifted over to the spear that was on the seat away from Loki.

Natasha frowned and grumbled “Where is this coming from?” as thunder rumbled around them and lightning streaked across the sky. The jet rocked with the turbulence as the cabin lit up with another flash of lightning. 

“What’s the matter?” Steve spoke up, and Tony saw he was looking back at their captive. “Are you scared of a little lightning?”

“I’m not overly fond of what follows.” Loki informed them, not looking entirely comfortable as the jet shuddered again.

Tony hadn’t had a chance to reply when something thumped onto the roof of their jet. As Steve moved to grab his shield, the engineer grabbed his helmet and slid it into place. 

He headed to the back of the plane and opened the rear hatch to avoid having the god of thunder tear a hole in the vehicle. 

“What are you doing?” Steve cried out, but Tony ignored him and a man with long, blond hair and a flowing red cape landed on the ramp.

Before he had the chance to advance any further, Thor pushed him back with his hammer as though he didn’t weigh an extra 200 lbs with the suit on. Jumping back to his feet, he saw the man disappear of the back of the jet with his brother. 

“And now there’s that guy.” He sighed, headed over to the back.

“Another Asgardian?” Natasha shouted back as Steve asked “That guy’s a friendly?” 

Apparently Fury had let the sentinel read through some files as well. “Doesn’t matter.” Tony stated, turning to look back at his sentinel. “If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract’s lost.”

“Stark!” Steve yelled after him. “We need a plan of attack.”

“I have a plan. Attack.” Tony stated, jumping out the plane and flying down without looking back at his sentinel; he had a feeling he’d be wearing that wide eyed, earnest expression that made Tony think twice about what he was doing. And that just wouldn’t help here.

The two had disappeared, but Tony quickly scanned the area. “Come on, come on.” He muttered, before spotting them on a rocky outcrop. “There.” He tackled Thor out the way, hopeful that Loki would come as easily as he had before.

As they skidded to a stop, Thor staggered to his feet and glared at Tony. “Do not touch me again.” He growled threateningly but Tony was spoiling for a fight, his frustration of the past few weeks finally finding an outlet in someone more than strong enough to take it.

“Then don’t take my stuff.” He replied simply, his face plate sliding up so he could see without the added extras. 

The blond man snarled in response “You have no idea what you’re dealing with.” But the tone made Tony wonder if he was a half feral sentinel, still capable of speech; even though he knew that Asgard didn’t have sentinels and guides, he wondered if they had some version of something similar because he didn’t quite feel like a perfectly in control mundane to Tony’s guide sense, but he’d never been very in tune with people anyway (regardless of the stereotypes that painted guides as empathic people persons). 

“Uh, Shakespeare in the Park?” He quipped easily as he felt frustration and determination running along his bond with Steve. “Doth Mother know you wear-eth her drapes?” he asked, mocking the bulky red cape that the alien wore.

“This is beyond you, metal man.” Thor stated, his voice evening out as he spoke with confidence. “Loki will face Asgardian justice.”

“He gives up the cube, he’s all yours.” He retorted, aware of his mission and how important it was to get the tesseract away from any possible threats. “Until then, stay out of the way.” He slid down the plate, stepping back as he prepared to head back to Loki’s last location. “Tourist.” He grumbled, unable to resist a final dig at the guy.

It was, Tony reflected as he was flung through the air by the hammer, probably a mistake to antagonise someone who viewed themselves as a god, but sometimes he just couldn’t help himself. Besides, when a guy called himself the god of thunder with a straight face, he felt obligated to try and take him down a few notches, even if he was capable of throwing lightning around.

“Okay.” He sighed as he clambered up, the screens flickering before his eyes. As the high voltage began to approach, Tony fired his repulsor and kicked him back.

The electrical discharge that was fired at him in response was absorbed by the suit and as JARVIS stated “Power at four hundred percent capacity.” Tony smirked. It was good to know that the modifications he’d made to his suit (after his encounters with Ivan Vanko and his electrified whips that had been powered by an arc reactor) had been successful. He hadn’t fought with anyone who threw lightning or electricity around in several years now so his tests had all been done in his workshop.

“How about that?” He murmured, feeling smug. Was there anything more satisfying than knowing he’d beaten this potential problem before he’d even known about Thor?

He used the increased power to give his repulsors a bit of extra juice before flying straight at the alien, gripping the edges of his armour to drag him up into the air and into the cliff face, trying to injure him against it. 

The tactic wasn’t entirely successful as Thor pushed back hard enough that Tony lost control of the flight and they hurtled back to the ground. Wincing at the impact, which was only partially cushioned by his suit, he threw a fist at Thor in response to his attack but the man captured his right wrist, his other hand clamped around Tony’s left hand and his strength was causing problem with the integrity of the suit; it wasn’t designed to be crushed by a super strong alien and he could hear the strain of the metal.

Thankfully, the guy head-butted him before he broke the gloves and Tony was hurled backwards. With a groan, Tony blasted towards him and threw the thunder guy into a tree, but Thor recovered quickly and easily flipped Tony in his heavy over his shoulder and to the ground. However, before he could land a hammer blow to Tony’ chest, the engineer gave his boots a blast and shot out from underneath him.

Curling over, he turned about and charged at him again, managing to dodge out the way of Thor’s fist, but not Steve’s shield as it thumped into both of them and ricocheted back into his sentinel’s grip.

“That’s enough.” The look on Steve’s face and the disappointment that was flooding their bond was enough to take the wind out of Tony’s sails. Steve jumped down and while was physically smaller than both Thor in his get-up and Tony in his Iron Man suit, he exuded more than enough authority to command their attention. “Now, I don’t know what you plan on doing here.”

“I’ve come here to put an end to Loki’s schemes.” Thor claimed.

“Then prove it.” Steve foolishly challenged. “Put down the hammer.”

“Uh, yeah? No!” Tony objected, not wanting to see his bond mate flattened before he’d gotten a second chance with him. “Bad call. He loves his hamm-” Thor smacked him with the hammer. 

He staggered back to his feet as Thor yelled, just in time to see Steve block a strike with his shield. The resulting shockwave knocked him off his feet again and he groaned; he was definitely going to be sore in the morning. His sentinel had landed beside him, but he wasn’t projecting any kind of pain along their bond, simply that solid determination that Tony was coming to recognise. 

“Are we done here?” Steve asked, his eyes on Thor as he edged towards Tony, as though planning to protect him despite the fact that Tony was in a suit of armour while Steve wore a tight suit (not that it didn’t highlight certain features well enough, but Tony didn’t exactly consider SHIELD’s resources to be top-of-the-range, especially not when it came to protecting the people Tony wanted to keep safe). 

“Hey, if Bolt in the Blue agrees to stop swinging that thing about and bring Loki back, I’m happy to visit SHIELD’s new, super-secret headquarters.” Tony assured him, hopefully proving his sincerity through their bond. They hadn’t actually experimented at all with it, so Tony wasn’t sure how versatile it was. 

“If you agree that Loki is to return with me, then aye, we can settle this out of battle.” Thor capitulated and Steve nodded.

“I see he waited.” The younger man commented in a suspicious tone as he lifted a hand to tap his ear piece. “Black Widow? We’re ready to head up.”

\------

It was in silence that Steve followed Black Widow through the corridors of the helicarrier to the conference table on the bridge where Bruce was already waiting. Tony had headed off as soon as the jet had landed before Steve had the chance to speak privately with him; it was a little disappointing, sure, but he was aware that they had other important stuff to sort out first.

Such as Loki.

Watching Fury talk to the dark-haired alien on a television embedded in the glass table, Steve reflected again on how easy it had been to capture him; first in Stuttgart and then later in the forest; Loki had had ample time to escape as Tony had picked a fight with other alien, but he had simply sat there and waited. Honestly, something about it just didn’t sit right with the sentinel. 

“He really grows on you, doesn’t he?” Bruce commented in a light tone, but Steve could feel the other sentinel’s mounting anxiety at the threat presented, as well as the undercurrent of anger that flared slightly whenever their captive spoke.

“Loki’s gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what’s his play?” Steve looked up at the other alien, hoping he would have some insight. He’d been told they were siblings, so hopefully he’d be able to provide some clue as to what exactly Loki was doing.

The large blond was staring at the people on the bridge as they flitted about, but his eyes were glazed over and he likely wasn’t seeing them at all. “He has an army called the Chitauri. They are not of Asgard nor any known world.” The warrior stated before turning back. Despite the natural shielding both Thor and Loki seemed to have against Steve’s guide abilities, he could still feel the tangle of fear, concern, frustration and even love that mixed inside the alien. “He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract.” As he spoke, Agent Hill silently joined them, her arms crossed over her body as she fought to keep her helpless frustration contained.

“An army… from outer space.” It sounded like something out of a novel, an alien prince coming to Earth with an alien army to steal a cube that had once sucked a man with a red skull for a face into the stars.

“So, he’s building another portal?” Bruce concluded, apparently able to grasp what was going on quicker than Steve could. He’d really only been given the basics – that an alien had come to Earth, stolen the Tesseract, bewitched a number of people and had notions about becoming a ruler. He hadn’t considered the Tesseract a portal making device, but Schmidt had disappeared from the Valkyrie so sucked through a portal wasn’t too far out there. 

At least, not too far out there when they were discussing aliens and magic cubes.

“That’s what he needs Erik Selvig for.” Bruce mused as Thor looked over at him.

“Selvig?”

“He’s an astrophysicist.” Bruce stated as he twisted his hands around his glasses.

Steve noticed an increase in Thor’s concern, both seeping into the air and on his face. “He’s a friend.” Thor said, which explained the strong emotions. Steve wasn’t bonded to the aliens in either a light or a true bond, that combined with what Fury had described to him as natural shielding to a guide’s _sixth sense_ meant that Steve had been unable to get anything from Loki, but Thor’s emotions were coming through more and more clearly as they spoke.

“Loki had him under some kind of spell.” Black Widow explained, her own emotions so completely sealed off that Steve suspected her own guide abilities were the cause. “Along with one of ours.”

He knew that a sentinel’s abilities were of a fixed range, that they could increase and decrease between one and five of the senses of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing, though how many senses and how far they could change it depended on each person. Guides only had changes to their ‘sixth sense’, but this gave guides an ability from a much larger pool. All guides could sense a sentinel they had a bond with, as well as any guides they may have formed a lighter bond with; they could detect emotions and sometimes specific thoughts. He’d heard rumours that some partners developed an ability to converse with each other over distances, which was a bizarre but fascinating idea. He’d never managed it with Bucky nor Howard. 

Guides often developed a more unique ability for their individual person as well. Steve had always been good at sensing the emotions of others, Falsworth had been good at detecting how many other people were in their area, Stanley, Cooper’s guide, had had a similar ability, but his range had been smaller and he’d been able to detect animals as well; the guy had once said they didn’t want to ask how many living things were in the area because the actual answer would make him vomit. He’d never really known many other guides, but Black Widow’s ability to hide herself from his mind wasn’t too hard to understand… even if it did make her feel weirdly like half a person; he’d never encountered anyone he couldn’t detect at all before and it made it a little tough to accept that she was really there.

“I wanna know why Loki let us take him.” Steve pointed out the thing that was frustrating him. “He’s not leading an army from here.”

Bruce shook his head. “I don’t think we should be focussing on Loki. That guy’s brain is a bag full of cats; you could smell crazy on him.” But Steve disagreed. Maybe he was crazy, but he was still dangerous and he clearly had a plan.

“Have care how you speak.” Thor objected, straightening up as he glared at the scientist. “Loki is beyond reason but he is of Asgard and he is my brother.”

“He killed eighty people in two days.” Black Widow glowered, and Steve wondered if her anger was bubbling just below the surface or if it had been pushed aside until later.

“He’s adopted.” Thor said, but his words didn’t lessen the heavy pain that echoed through him.

“I think it’s about the mechanics.” Bruce spoke up, but Steve was distracted as he felt Tony getting closer to him. “Iridium. What do they need the iridium for?”

Steve smelt his guide before he heard him, but the man answered Bruce as he entered the room. “It’s a stabilising agent.” Tony finished his conversation with Coulson as they both approached the table. “It means the portal won’t collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD.”

So if Steve was understanding correctly, and the whole thing was edging towards the boundaries of his ability to understand, then the Tesseract had opened a portal at SHIELD, but it had collapsed like when you dig a tunnel in the dirt and don’t use props to keep the sides up; the whole thing tumbles in on itself. But Loki had allowed his team to steal the props they needed to dig this tunnel to allow the alien army through to Earth… just they were digging through space instead of through the ground.

“No hard feelings, Point Break. You’ve got a mean swing.” Tony assured Thor casually as he wandered passed him. “Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants.” He stopped by the glass screens and looked around. “Raise the mizzenmast, jib the topsails.” Tony spoke up although Steve honestly couldn’t see this future-focussed man on a sailing boat that had been old-fashioned back in his day. 

“That man is playing Galaga! He thought we wouldn’t notice, but we did.” Steve glanced over at one of the men sat at a computer screen, tapping away like everyone else. He didn’t bother to ask what Galaga was because he could feel Tony’s mind working over the problem as he rambled. Howard had always felt the need to talk while he worked, but he usually spoke about what he was doing to the actual thing he’d been working on. “How does Fury even see these?” He asked as he considered the glass screens; computer screens as opposed to television ones, Steve assumed, as they didn’t have any video feed like the ones inside the table had.

“He turns.” Agent Hill stated, but Tony’s rambling had distracted her from the confusion and anxiety that had been bubbling inside and helped her mind focus again. Steve wondered how well his guide could feel the emotions of other people and if he was helping them settle deliberately. 

“Sounds exhausting. The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily.” Tony murmured, and Steve grinned briefly as the man showed he was thinking about their problem. He certainly felt like he had a plan of some kind. “The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density. Something to kick-start the cube.”

“When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?” Agent Hill asked curiously.

“Last night.” Tony replied, and Steve felt a sudden wave of exhaustion before it was firmly suppressed. “The packet, Selvig’s notes, the extraction theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?”

“Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?” Asked Steve, trying to focus on the important parts, namely Loki’s plan to bring an alien army conquer Earth.

“He would have to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the coulomb barrier.” Bruce looked at Steve as he spoke, and the soldier assumed that meant it needed to be super-heated to work. 

“Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilise the quantum tunnelling effect.” Tony pointed out, as though this should have been obvious.

Bruce’s lips quirked into a grin. “Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet.”

“Finally, someone who speaks English.” Tony smirked slightly.

Steve resisted the urge to scratch his head; he had definitely lost track of this conversation. “Is that what just happened?” He looked over at Agent Hill then Agent Coulson to see if they knew what was going on.

“It’s good to meet you, Doctor Banner.” Tony greeted as Coulson gave Steve a sympathetic smile and Hill simply shrugged. “Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled and I’m a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.” Fury stopped at the top of the stairs and frowned at Steve’s guide.

Steve almost choked on Bruce’s discomfort as he replied “Thanks.” to Tony’s comment. 

Steve half wondered if Tony only did it to get a reaction as Fury strode around the table. “Doctor Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him.”

“I would start with that stick of his.” Steve said, keen to get a move on with breaking Loki’s plan. “It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon.”

“I don’t know about that, but it is powered by the cube,” Fury explained, which meant they had the same power source. “And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys.”

“Monkeys? I do not understand.” Thor frowned as he looked over at Fury.

“I do!” Steve jumped in, happy that there was something in this conversation he fully understood. He’d seen the Wizard of Oz twice at the movie theatre, more than happy to pay his twenty five cents both times to lose himself in another world for the length of the film. For a moment, the strongest emotion in the room to Steve was Tony’s fond exasperation as the young sentinel glanced back at his guide. “I understood that reference.” It was the first time that had happened in this new world.

“Shall we play, doctor?” Tony turned to Bruce, and Steve tried not to feel disappointed at that. He’d been the one pointing out how important it was to get to work on this, so it was good that they were going to do just that.

“This way, sir.” Bruce replied pleasantly.

It was just that Tony hadn’t really spoken a single word to him the whole time he’d been there.

Black Widow was giving him a half smile from across the table as she stood up. “You have an idea of what we need to do then?” She asked as he got to his feet.

“Only very vaguely.” He shrugged apologetically. “If that staff is what Loki used to alter people’s minds then hopefully it can undo that damage too.” Maybe he shouldn’t approve of the scientists working on something other than finding the cube, but small victories along the way were appreciated. 

“That would be good.” She said as they headed out the door.

“He’s your sentinel, right? Agent Barton?” She was a guide with two true bonds; one with Agent Barton and one with Bruce.

She gave him a curious look as Steve felt his mind trying and failing to reach hers; it really was unnerving to be unable to feel her. “He is. I’ve known him for a while now.” She stopped at a door with a white plastic box at the side. “But don’t think he isn’t dangerous, just because I know him. He can do a lot of damage if someone makes him want to do it.”

“Don’t worry, Black Widow. We’ll hit him hard enough to keep him down until Tony and Bruce can help.”

“Natasha.” She replied with a smile, and Steve felt a light flutter of approval as she let him peak behind her wall.

“Natasha.” He nodded, watching as she held a card out to the box and the door slid open for her.

He followed Tony’s scent along the corridor until he stepped into a room in time to see his guide prodding Bruce. “Hey! Are you nuts?”

“Jury’s out.” Tony replied, but his attention was still on the scientist. “You really have got a lid on it, haven’t you? What’s your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?”

“Is everything a joke to you?” He asked in frustration, as he began to realise that his guide treated an awful lot of stuff in a less than serious manner. 

“Funny things are.” Tony noted lightly as Bruce ducked his head to examine the staff again.

“Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn’t funny.” Steve pointed out, annoyed that this even needed pointing out. “No offense, Doc.” He added to Bruce.

“It’s alright, I wouldn’t have come aboard if I couldn’t handle pointy things.” Bruce assured him, proving he had a good dose of common sense within him.

“You’re tiptoeing, big man. You need to strut.”

“And you need to focus on the problem, Mr Stark.” Steve reminded him. Earlier in the day, he’d used Tony’s last name as an attempt to separate their professional relationship from their personal one. But now, while he was in this overly bright costume that demanded attention, he was going to act like someone worth paying attention to; that meant he was going to keep up the professional attitude while there was something of a crisis going on.

“Do you think I’m not?” Steve could feel the irritation stirring in Tony, but it didn’t seem to be directed at the sentinel. “Why did Fury call us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn’t he telling us?” It was a good question, one Steve had asked of his superiors before deciding whether or not to follow orders, but Steve hadn’t gained enough confidence in this new century to start questioning authority. As annoying as it was, maybe he shouldn’t be surprised that Howard’s kid wasn’t too interested in marching to someone else’s tune; his old friend had only listened to Philips when it had suited him. “I can’t do the equation unless I have all the variables.”

“You think Fury’s hiding something?” He pushed back the rising frustration to consider this properly. 

Tony’s warm, brown eyes met his. “He’s a spy, Captain. He’s the spy. His secrets have secrets.” And then the serious moment passed as he tossed a blueberry into his mouth. “It’s bugging him too, isn’t it?”

“Uh.” Bruce glanced over, before shaking his head. “I just want to finish my work here, and…”

“Doctor?” Steve was in a room with two geniuses; he wanted to hear their opinions.

Bruce took his glasses off with a sigh. “‘A warm light for all mankind’. Loki’s jab at Fury about the cube.”

“I heard it.” Steve nodded. He’d heard the whole conversation on the screen in the table.

“Well, I think that was meant for you.” He gestured to Tony, and Steve felt interest glimmer along their bond as the guide held out the back of fruit for Bruce. “Even if Barton didn’t tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news.”

“The Stark Tower? That big, ugly… building in New York” He hesitated as he felt Tony’s disapproval, but Steve wasn’t entirely sure if Tony had any other towers; SHIELD hadn’t really encouraged him to read the news. They had been providing him with information of current events on printed paper for him to catch up on everything. 

“It’s powered by an arc reactor; a self-sustaining energy source.” Bruce explained. “That building will run itself for, what? A year?”

“It’s just a prototype.” Tony shrugged, and Steve wondered if Bruce was unaware of the one in Tony’s chest; he remembered that it had something to do with Tony’s heart and that it powered the Iron Man suit, but maybe it was slightly different when it was being made to run a whole building. “I’m kind of the only name in clean energy right now. That’s what he’s getting at.” Tony stated but Steve already knew this as Tony had explained about fossil fuels and greenhouses gases back when Steve had stayed with him weeks ago.

“So, why didn’t SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project?” Bruce asked him. “What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?” It was another good question, but Steve didn’t know enough about the history of SHIELD to even begin to guess; they hadn’t been around in the war.

“I should probably look into that once my decryption programme finishes breaking into all of SHIELD’s secure files.” Tony stated as he wandered around the desk to join Steve.

“I’m sorry, did you say-”

“JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours, I’ll know every dirty secret SHIELD as ever tried to hide.” The guide slid his glass screen into his pocket and held out his bag to his sentinel. “Blueberry?”

He was definitely starting to get annoyed again, for reasons he almost couldn’t explain. “Yet you’re confused about why they don’t want you around.” While Steve didn’t really mind his actions, his flippant attitude left a lot to be desired.

“An intelligence organisation that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome.”

“I think Loki’s trying to wind us up.” Steve tried to get him focussed back on the real problem. Everyone’s disinterest in Loki was beyond frustrating; they all seemed real confident that he was trapped in that cell, like any regular human would be without fully acknowledging that he was an alien. Steve wasn’t exactly sure what differences there were between regular men and these aliens, but Thor could fly and summon thunder so he didn’t want to underestimate them. “This is a man who means to start a war and if we don’t stay focussed, he’ll succeed. We have orders. We should follow them.”

“Following’s not really my style.” Tony popped another blueberry into his mouth.

“And you’re all about style, aren’t you?” Steve commented, anger bubbling up at the man’s casual attitude.

“Of the people in this room, which one is A) wearing a spangly outfit, and B) not of use?” Tony managed to dig into a root problem; Steve wasn’t sure what he should be doing; they only had one foe at the moment and he was sat in the helicarrier’s prison cell.

“Steve?” Bruce spoke up. “Tell me none of this smells a little funky to you.”

If the two most intelligent people in this room, and possibly on the ship, thought something was off, then he couldn’t ignore it. “Just find the cube.” He commanded, hoping they could spare a few thoughts for where it was outside their other interests.

He stepped out the room and hesitated. Should he really be working to undermine Fury’s authority when the Tesseract was missing and they had an alien on board? He gritted his teeth, then headed towards to storage bays, easily recalling the layout of the ship that he had seen when they had been on their way to Germany. 

He passed a handful of people, but he kept up a confident stride so that no one tried to talk to him. In the corridors around the storage bays, Steve couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling as he heard a familiar humming noise. He’d heard it in abundance not a full month ago in the Hydra camp where he’d confronted Schmidt. It had resonated in all their weapons. 

He approached one of the doors and forced it open. Inside, he jumped up to the metal walkway that surrounded the higher placed containers and stepped into the room where the noise was loudest. There, he pulled out one of the boxes; nestled inside was a weapon with a distinct blue glow as a power source, and protective gear.

That sure was disappointing.

He pulled out several more boxes and found twelve weapons in total, likely prototypes as all but two had different designs, but he grabbed one and jumped back down to return to Tony and Bruce. He wasn’t sure how long it would take JARVIS to find everything, especially as he wasn’t sure how much the AI could do this far from the tower.

He could hear is guide explaining that they were locating the cube to Fury as he hurried back to them.

“What is phase two?” Tony asked the spy as Steve joined them and dropped the weapon onto a table.

“Phase two is SHIELD using the cube to make weapons.” He half growled, irked that SHIELD was resorting to Hydra’s tactics of using something they didn’t fully understand. “Sorry, computer was moving a little slow for me.” He added for Tony, a little sharply as his emotions spiked with anger again.

Fury turned to look at him. “Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract.” He looked like he was trying to be reassuring, but Fury didn’t know that Steve was a guide and could feel the anger within him. “This does not mean that we’re making-”

“I’m sorry, Nick.” Tony interrupted, spinning one of the computer screens around for them to see. “What were you lying?”

“I was wrong, Director. The world hasn’t changed a bit.” He allowed the bitter note to seep into his tone as he glowered. 

“Did you know about this?” Bruce asked as Natasha entered the room with Thor, his eyes focussed on his guide.

Natasha had controlled calm enforced on her top layers of emotion, but Steve could only see what she allowed him to, so he had no glimpse of the nerves that had to be supressed under that. “You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?” She suggested, and Steve could feel her encouragement from Bruce’s end as she encouraged him to leave.

Bruce smirked, but his anxiety was far closer to the surface. “Hah, I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed.” He chuckled as Steve’s attention slid away from them and over to Tony as he 

“Loki is manipulating you.” Steve shifted uncomfortably as Natasha replied, the levels of irritation, anger and aggression rising in the room so quickly that it was half fogging Steve’s mind. He raised his eyes to his guide again, the man still lounging comfortably on a table; he really wanted the comfort of an embrace, but he didn’t know Tony well enough to take it. He took a deep breath and tried to focus on something other than his frustration at the whole situation.

“And you’ve been doing what, exactly?”

“You didn’t come here because I bat my eyelashes at you.” Natasha stated confidently, but Bruce was getting agitated.

“Yes, and I’m not leaving cos suddenly you get a little twitchy.” Bruce grasped one of the screens, and turned to address Fury. “I’d like to know why SHIELD is using the tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction.”

“Because of him.” Fury pointed at Thor, leaving no room for doubt as to where he laid the blame. Steve turned to look at the apparent thunder god as Tony got to his feet; as a guide, he was no doubt feeling the negative emotions that permeated the air too.

Thor’s arms were crossed over his chest, but he scowled at Fury’s words. “Me?”

“Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that levelled a small town.” Fury’s exasperation was plain on his face. “We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously outgunned.”

“My people wanted nothing but peace with your planet.” Thor stated, his arms falling to his side as he began to shift in tiny movements that Steve could only detect so easily with his sentinel senses, no doubt preparing in case he needed to move, to fight…

“But you’re not the only people out there, are you? And you’re not the only threat.” Fury turned to look at them, his eyes meeting Steve’s for a moment before sliding over to Bruce. “The world’s filling up with people who can’t be matched, that can’t be controlled.”

Control… as though Fury had any real control over what was happening. “Like you controlled the cube?” He challenged, as their attempts to use the cube had destroyed SHIELD HQ. Waving around a dangerous weapon he had no ability to control was no way to face any incoming threat, it didn’t take a tactician to realise that.

“Your work with the tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies!” Thor half growled as he stepped closer to the director. “It is a signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war.”

“A higher form?” Steve asked, wondering if this had started with Schmidt or if Steve had prevented this ‘higher form of war’ from becoming an issue earlier. Either way, he was annoyed that the government were the ones messing around with stuff they didn’t understand.

“He forced our hand. We had to come up with something.” Fury tried to explain as Steve felt a sickening jolt in Tony.

“A nuclear deterrent?” His guide stepped forwards. “Cos that always calms everything right down.” Steve looked curiously over at Tony, sensing there was something pointed in that comment but not really knowing what it was. 

“Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark.” Fury challenged, and as Tony’s eyes slid over to Steve’s for a moment before he looked away, the young sentinel felt anger bubbling inside him.

He knew Howard would never have been able to resist the chance to get his hands on the Tesseract. Steve wouldn’t be surprised if Howard had helped develop these after finding the cube in the ocean, before he died. He wondered how different the man’s son was. “I’m sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep-”

“Wait. Wait, hold on. How is this now about me?” The man glowered at Steve, clearly unhappy that the attention he was receiving wasn’t positive. 

“I’m sorry, isn’t everything?”

“I thought humans were more evolved than this.” Thor said, but Steve’s gaze was still locked with Tony’s.

Fury turned his attention back to the alien. “Excuse me? Did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?”

“’Tis your champion. You treat your champions with such mistrust.”

“You are not my champion!” Fury raised his voice as Natasha spoke over him. “Are you boys really that naïve? SHIELD monitors potential threats!” 

“You furious?” Tony asked Steve, before glancing over to Thor. “I’m furious.”

Bruce scoffed, and Steve felt a protective flare from him that was at odds with the rapidly building anger. “And Captain America is on the threat poll?”

“We all are!” Natasha yelled back as Steve heaved a sigh. “Cooper was Captain America. Not me! It’s not that difficult to remember!” He’d been friends with Cooper and the thought of people just dismissing him like that was infuriating.

“You’re on that list?” Tony smirked, but the curl of his lip wasn’t kind. “Are you above or below angry bees?”

Steve clenched his fists and stepped closer. “Stark so help me God! If you make one more wisecrack-”

“Threat! Verbal Threat. I feel threatened.” The man was so patronising! How Steve had ended up with this as a guide, he didn’t know.

All he had gone though, the experiment, the war, the ice, and now this? “Show some respect!” Stark was just a bully who had enough money that people turned their backs.

“Respect what?” The man’s eyes raked over him, and he felt lacking in a way he hadn’t in years.

“Maybe it’s hard to realise cos you’re getting older, but I’ve spent a lot of time working for peace.” 

“No. You spent more than half a century napping in the ice!” Stark was leaning over him, but Steve stood his ground.

“Napping? I gave my life to stop Schmidt and you-” He clenched his hand around his belt to stop himself from swinging. He’d wipe Stark out if he actually hit him.

“Please. You could have escaped. It was only ice.”

“Only ice?!” He snarled, words were becoming difficult as sentinel side of him lost interest in talking. 

Thor smacked a fist against a table, the bang quietening the voices. “You speak of control, yet you court chaos.”

“It’s his MO, isn’t it? I mean, what are we, a team? No, no. we’re a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We’re- we’re a time bomb.” Bruce spoke up.

“You need to step away!” Fury stated, and Steve felt a hint of concern ripple through him, at odds with the blinding anger that had been there moments before. 

“Why shouldn’t the guy let off a little steam?” Tony’s anger was cooling too, but Steve’s was still amplified by everyone else’s.

“You know damn well why.” He growled, throwing off the hand that had landed on his shoulder. “Back off.”

“Oh, I’m starting to want you to make me.” Tony sounded amused by him as he looked Steve up and down again. The hint of lust Steve felt along their bond combined with his embarrassment at the overly bright uniform had Steve turning on him.

“Yeah. Big man in a suit of armour. Take that off, what are you?” Nothing that compared to Howard, as far as he could see, nor Peggy, nor Bucky, or Dum Dum, Jim, Falsworth, Gabe or Jacques. Steve didn’t trust this man with his life and he wasn’t sure if he ever would.

“Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.”

“I know guys with none of that worth ten of you.” The Commandos hadn’t been about how much money they had, or how much they gave to others, they certainly hadn’t had any self-proclaimed geniuses or ‘play-boys’. “I’ve seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself.” The bright armour, the flashy displays? The woman is short skirts dancing around him? He was worse than Howard had been; he did what he did inside a suit of armour to gain attention. “You’re not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you.”

“I think I would just cut the wire.” Tony replied, hurt radiating along their bond, but Steve supposed it was because he hadn’t fallen over himself to be impressed with the guy and his genius ways.

“Always a way out.” He glanced over at Bruce as he felt a pang of hurt from him too. Tony sure was lucky to have made such a good friend in so little time. “You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero.”

“A hero? Like you? You’re a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle.” Tony stepped close enough to Steve to smell his breath without trying as his words cut deeply because Tony wasn’t wrong; the most Steve had been able to do before was change the location of where he got beat up occasionally, he’d never been anything impressive. If Erskine hadn’t picked him, he would have died years ago from all his different health issues and his lack of money to pay for anything.

“Put on the suit. Let’s go a few rounds.” Maybe he couldn’t have an embrace as a comfort, but hitting someone sounded like a good idea, and as Tony had put all that effort into building something to keep himself safe? Well, it’d be a waste not to use it.

“You people are so petty.” Thor laughed at them. “And tiny.” Steve glowered, not appreciating the dig at his height. He didn’t need to stand taller than 5’4’’ to help people, but he sometimes wished he was a little bit more impressive than this.

“Yeah, this is a team.” Bruce muttered, and Steve glanced over as Tony rubbed his eyes. The anger that had fogged his mind was starting to clear, at last.

Fury sighed. “Agent Romanoff, would you escort Doctor Banner back to his-”

“Where?” Bruce interrupted, his temper suddenly flaring up again. “You rented my room.”

“The cell was just-”

“In case you needed to kill me. But you can’t! I know. I tried.” There was a flash of pain, and Steve saw Tony and Natasha flinch as well as they felt it. “I got low. I didn’t see an end so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out.” Steve had a brief flash to Dum Dum, staring at his gun when he’d accidently killed a civilian that had been in one of Schmidt’s bases; the older guy had asked in a blank voice if the war was ever gonna end, and they’d all refused to leave him alone until he’d been able to smile again. The thought that Bruce had been so alone… “So I moved on. I focussed on helping other people. I was good until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk.” He reached behind himself to grab to sceptre, shifting it slowly off the table with his left hand.

“You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff?” He continued. “You wanna know how I stay calm?”

“Doctor Banner?” Steve tried addressing him respectfully as opposed to familiarly. “Put down the sceptre.”

It was a little worrying to see the surprise in Bruce’s expression as he looked down at the weapon in his grasp. However, a beeping cut through the room and they glanced back at one of the screens.

“Got it.” Fury said, clearly grasping what had happened quicker than Steve had. 

“Sorry kids, you don’t get to see my party trick after all.” Bruce hurried away from the sceptre, but he was seeping embarrassment at losing control at all. 

“You located the Tesseract?” Thor asked and Steve turned to look properly, trying to figure out what was going on. He was sure that he would appreciate modern technology when he got used to it, but the way everyone else gave it their full attention was a little annoying. He preferred the war table they had had a few months, but really so many years, ago.

“I could get there fastest.” Tony piped up as he shifted back. 

But Steve didn’t like the idea of him rushing off on his own; he’d seen the cube turn someone into light and shoot them into the stars and he doubted the Iron Man suit would protect against that. “Look, all of us-”

“The Tesseract belongs on Asgard, no human is a match for it.” Thor interrupted, but his words were background noise as Tony stepped towards the door.

“You’re not going alone.” Even if Tony survived the trip to space, he would still be in space! Just thinking about it made him feel helpless.

“You gonna stop me?” Tony asked, slapping away the hand Steve had reaching out.

“Put on the suit. Let’s find out.” The thought of Tony being ripped away from him, just like Bucky had been? He wasn’t going to just let it happen a second time. 

“I’m not afraid to hit an old man.” Tony mocked warningly, lifting his chin as he scowled down at Steve.

“Put on the suit.” Steve said again, because he refused to fight Tony without it. He stepped closer to his guide, the need to do something rippling through him. 

Tony curled his lip and opened his mouth, but an explosion knocked them off their feet and into the doorway before he could reply. 

“Put on the suit.” Steve commanded, now aware that they had something else to focus on.

“Yeah.” Scrambling to his feet Steve quickly checked his guide over for injuries; he felt slightly shocked at the explosions, and a little bruised but nothing too damaging. They turned and headed off down a corridor, Steve happy to let Tony lead the way. 

In his ear piece, Agent Hill was giving updates. Apparently, the explosion had taken out one of the engines. 

“ _Stark, you copy that?_ ” Fury barked urgently.

“I’m on it.” Tony assured him as they hurried down some stairs. He glanced back at Steve. “I’m gonna get my suit and fly out there. I need you to head to the engine from inside the carrier. It’ll take too long to do this all by myself.”

“Just tell me what to do.” Steve instructed, pleased to see that Tony could ask for help when he needed it… if he even needed it; he’d be able to survive a fall back to Earth in his fancy, flying suit. It was them who needed him.

“Engine three. I’ll meet you there.” Tony said, pointing Steve along another corridor as he stopped at a room that had been labelled ‘tech room’ on the schematic. 

He passed several SHIELD workers with oxygen masks on as he approached the engine, and helped push the door open to let some of them out, a wounded man between them.

“Stark? Stark, I’m here.” Steve called out, grasping the ladder as he looked at the wreckage.

“ _Good._ ” Tony’s voice was calm over the ear piece, and Steve was relieved to find that hearing him didn’t stir up any anger this time. “ _Let’s see what we’ve got._ ” 

Steve watched as the gaudy suit of armour flew to the smoking metal. He could feel his guide’s mind working, but he had no idea what exactly the man was looking at, never mind what he was thinking about.

He pushed some of the parts back in before pointing at a panel on the next level up. “ _I need you to get to that engine control panel and tell me which relays are in overload position.”_

Nodding, Steve jumped over the gap and swung himself up to the walkway. Sliding the panel out, he admitted to himself that he didn’t know what he was looking for. 

“ _What’s it look like in there?_ ” 

Was the future so advanced that Tony just assumed he would know what he was looking at? “ _It seems to run in some form of electricity._ ” He stated, feeling bitterly amused by his uselessness. 

“ _Well, you’re not wrong_.” Tony replied, far more kindly than he had in Bruce’s lab ten minutes earlier. “ _The relays are like switches to turn power off and on. If they are broken I’ll need to come over there and bypass them._ ” 

“How do I know if they are broken?” He decided now was not the time to assume he could work it out, not when he had someone here who could explain it and eliminate the risk of him getting it wrong. Swallowing pride was easy if it kept the ship in the air. 

“ _They’re electromagnets so if the coils of wire are intact then there will be electricity going through them_.” 

“Making them into magnets.” 

“ _Exactly. But these ones work to amplify the small electrical currents into bigger ones that keep the engines running. So look for the coils and see if they are working; if you can see anything broken, or if you can tell if the magnets are working._ ” Tony explained, grunting occasionally as he hefted bit of engine back into place. 

Crouching close to the panel, he shut his eyes and focussed his hearing on the circuits in front of him. They were definitely humming, and as he blocked out other sound, he could work his way along each relay to check they were all making noise. 

Hopefully, that meant they were good to go. Switching his attention to his and Tony’s bond, he took a moment to regulate his hearing, grasping the edge of the panel as his balance wavered. 

“Kay, the relays are intact.” He stood up and slid the panel back into the wall. “What’s our next move?” 

“ _Even if I clear the rotors, this thing won’t reengage without a jump. I’m going to have to get in there and push_." 

“Well if that thing gets up to speed, you’ll be shredded.” 

“ _That stator control unit can reverse the polarity long enough to disengage maglev and that should-_ ” 

“Speak English!” Steve interrupted, wanting simple instructions that he could follow… He was definitely going to have to ask about classes if this was the kind of work he was going to be doing from now on. 

Tony huffed, but didn’t object. “ _See that red lever? It will slow the rotors down long enough for me to get out_.” There was a lever on the other side of the broken walkway, but Steve leapt over to it. “ _Stand by it and wait for my word._ ” 

Hearing clanging, Steve turned to see two soldiers enter the remains of the room. He hesitated, not entirely sure if these were Fury’s men or not. Their minds were oddly blank of even the muted emotions that most people felt, but when one tossed a grenade, Steve had his answer. He jumped in the way, knocking the grenade away and quickly knocking one of the men off his feet. He was quick to throw the other off the walkway and into the sky, hoping that he had a parachute in that outfit before turning to look at the guy who was approaching the doorway, his feet echoing loudly on the metal path. 

Dodging the gunfire, Steve grabbed one of the fallen guns and shot back at him, making the man hide behind the doorframe. Shuffling backwards, he edged towards the lever; he didn’t want Tony to get ripped to shreds because he got distracted. He avoided shooting to kill, uncertain on what to do; it was unfair to kill them if they were being controlled by Loki, but he wasn’t going to let them win either. 

Ignoring the words that occasionally came through his earpiece, Steve kept an eye on the doorway. However, he couldn’t ignore it when he realised that he couldn’t hear one of the engines. He slammed into the side as the ship lurched, but quickly got his feet back under him as more soldiers appeared. He was going to have to take them out; it was unfortunate, but he wasn’t going to let Tony die because he’d been unwilling to fight back. 

He just hoped they would understand when they were in their right minds. Firing back, he caught one in the shoulder, but another began firing again and he stepped back to dodge the bullets. The walkway fell away, and Steve felt the rush of wind as he fell through the air. 

He hastily spotted some wiring and grabbed it, praying fervently that the gloves he wore would keep his grip and wouldn’t be his downfall. He slid a little as he heard the rotors of the nearby engine start up and Tony’s voice called out “ _Cap, hit the lever_ ” as he stared at his return route back along the power cord. 

“I need a minute here.” He yelled in response as he dared to start moving. He didn’t feel like gravity was working for him at all. 

“ _Lever. Now._ ” 

He reached the walkway, his breath coming in choppy pants as he kept his head low to avoid the gunfire. That had been close. But he could hear Tony getting rattled around by the rotors, so he took a deep breath and shifted himself onto all fours and reached a single hand up to pull the red lever down. 

A moment later, and Tony took out the gunmen, apparently having no dilemmas over what to do with them. 

“You okay?” His guide asked as Steve sat back on his haunches and nodded his head, still panting. 

He got to his feet and staggered over to the ladder, his strength returned as he settled back down. “Yeah. You?” 

“Great.” Tony groaned as he stood up, the helmet hanging from one hand as he turned to look up at Steve. 

“ _Agent Coulson is down._ ” Fury informed them over the ear pieces, and Steve felt both his own jolt of pain, and a deeper one that had to come from Tony. 

“ _A medical team is on its way to your location._ ” Someone replied. 

“ _They’re here. They called it._ ” 

“Shit.” Tony swore softly as he stepped back, raising wide, brown eyes to meet Steve’s gaze.

Hopping down to stand beside Tony, he pressed a hand to his shoulder, aware that he probably couldn’t feel it through the armour but needing the contact anyway. 

“Shit.” Tony repeated, pressing a gauntleted hand to his face. “Okay. L-Let’s head back to the bridge.” 

Reaching out again, Steve ran his fingers through Tony’s curling hair; the act was a little intimate, but he wanted to offer some comfort, and he was covered in metal everywhere else. 

At the table on the bridge, Steve sat beside Tony as Fury stood before them. He’d taken off his outer jacket of the costume, and he wished he could take the clunky boots off. He wished he could go to sleep and wake up in a hospital somewhere in Greenland, back in 1945… he wanted to go back to the comfort of familiar things in familiar times… 

“These were in Phil Coulson’s jacket. I guess he never did get you to sign them.” Fury threw down some cards… Captain America cards… He wasn’t Captain America, but he was starting to wonder if someone needed to be. After all, it was Coulson who had said something about people needing a little ‘old-fashioned’ right now. 

“We’re dead in the air up here. Our communications, location of the cube, Banner, Thor. I got nothing for you. Lost my one good eye. Think I had that coming.” Fury sighed as he moved around the edge of the table. “Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number, though, because I was playing something even riskier. There was an idea, Stark knows this, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea, in heroes.” Through the haze of his own detachment, Steve could feel the panic welling inside Tony as he stood up and walked out. “Well, it’s an old-fashioned idea.” 

\------ 

Tony stared at the gap where Bruce’s cell used to be. His back to the place where Coulson had died. They hadn’t cleaned all the blood yet; there were other, more important things for people to be doing. But it just seemed wrong. 

With everything that had happened in recent years, all the close scrapes that Tony had somehow managed to escape, how had Coulson been the one to go down? To think that he was now gone was a little scary; he was only a few years older than Tony, and he certainly didn’t wear a fancy costume and thoughtlessly throw himself into dangerous situations. He wore a suit for fuck’s sake! A suit and, yes, he often wielded a deadly amount of paperwork to match his bland smile, but Tony had always been able to feel the glimmer of amusement behind the mask that let him know Coulson was a person and not some kind of advanced robot that even he didn’t have. 

“Was he married?” Steve had managed to slip into the section without Tony realising, but he took a moment to raise his eyes from where the floor retracted. 

“No. There was a uh – cellist, I think.” Who would be waiting for contact that would never come again, and she would never get the full story of why. 

“I’m sorry. He seemed like a good man.” Steve’s comment was tinted with sadness, but there was a lot of resignation, as though he was used to good men dying… Hell, he’d lived during the war; Steve had probably seen plenty of men like Coulson heading out to die. Reserved, seemingly average but thoroughly determined men who believed in what they were doing even as they took their last breath. 

“He was an idiot.” Tony bit out, finally lifting his gaze properly to see Steve cross his arms over his chest, still dressed in that costume bright under-top, the darker pants and red boots. 

“Why? For believing?” Steve challenged. 

Tony stepped back, his stomach churning. “For taking on Loki alone.” He shouldn’t have had to. Tony was the so-called super hero, and he’d been unable to confront the guy. Steve had insisted that Loki had come too easily, and the guy had surrendered without a fuss; they should have realised that something was up! 

“He was doing his job.” Huh, that was weird; Tony could feel Steve trying to send comfort along their bond, but it just frustrated him more. 

He scoffed as he began to head along the walk way. “He was outta his league. He should have waited. He should have…” He huffed, uncertain. Surely though, they could have done something differently. 

“Sometimes, there isn’t a way out, Tony.” Steve stepped over to him, his blue eyes wide on his sympathetic face. 

“Right.” Tony walked passed him, refusing to accept any comfort for something that undeniably felt like his fault, because there had to have been another way. “I’ve heard that before.” 

“Is this the first time you’ve lost a soldier?” 

Tony spun back to meet Steve’s eyes. “We are not soldiers!” Coulson had not been some kind of cannon fodder, thrown at the enemy to slow him down. Steve didn’t argue; his gentle expression was genuine as he waited for Tony to continue. “I’m not marching to Fury’s fife.” 

“Neither am I.” The smaller man assured him. “He’s got the same blood on his hands that Loki does. Be right now, we gotta put that behind us and get this done.” Maybe Steve wasn’t interested in blindly following orders, but he was clearly a soldier used to fighting a war, able to put a lost battle behind him on focus on what needed doing next… Tony’s eyes slid to the patch of drying blood on the wall, where Coulson had died. “Loki needs a power source. If we can put together a list-” 

“He made it personal.” Tony murmured, wondering if there was a reason Coulson had died; a reason for Loki using their own men against them. 

“That’s not the point.” Steve was focussing on the wrong thing. 

“That is the point. That’s Loki’s point. He hit us all right where we live. Why?” 

“To tear us apart.” Steve replied simply, and he wasn’t wrong but there had to be more. 

“Yeah, divide and conquer is great but… He knows he has to take us out to win, right? That’s what he wants. He wants to beat us. He wants to be seen doing it.” What better way to destroy any resistance before it starts than to destroy all morale, to have the people of the world watch as he destroyed the costumed heroes? “He wants an audience.” 

Steve nodded. “Right. I caught his act in Stuttgart.” Tony began to move, knowing they needed to get a move on. 

“Yeah. That’s just previews. This is, this is opening night. And Loki? He’s a full-tilt diva, right?” All eyes on him because he wanted to step out his brother’s shadow. “He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered… Son of a bitch.” 

“Tony?” Steve hurried to catch him up as Tony turned and headed into the corridor. “You have an idea about where he is?” 

“I need to make repairs to my suit.” It was more than a little battered after getting jostled by the rotors. “Then, Stark Tower.” 

“We telling Fury?” Steve asked, looking to Tony as though he’d do whatever he recommended. 

“He can know but we will need to take the jet.” Tony admitted. He could make as many repairs here as possible, but this suit had had issues before he’d flown it to Germany and tumbled around inside an engine like an origami swan stuck inside a rotor fan. “Regardless, he won’t want the whole city seeing his ship unless it’s last resort.” Fury would make them take the jet when they got closer anyway. 

“So we need Natasha?” 

“And Barton. Bruce had been working on a way to reverse Loki’s brainwashing, but Natasha might have already tried to help him out.” He wasn’t sure how complete it was, but Bruce hadn’t liked the way Loki had turned so many people against each other. 

“I’ll go get them.” Steve nodded to him, turning confidently down another corridor, hopefully knowing where the infirmary was. 

With a sigh, Tony headed back to the tech room. His suit was stood in a corner, out the way of the milling workers who were focussed on repairing the damage done by the attack. He grabbed the helmet and, accessing the systems externally, ran a diagnostic. 

For the most part, the SHIELD-lings ignored him. They were all so focussed on their work that he barely had to nudge at their minds to overlook him, but it meant that he could get started on the more fiddly repairs while aboard the helicarrier; it was easier to keep a steady hand on a ship this size than it would be the jet, so he’d just sneak out later. To be fair, he was pretty sure Fury had been goading them to do something, but he wasn’t sure if the director wanted them to head off like this or not. He liked to be in control, but even Tony (who was admittedly not the most sensitive guide when it came to other people’s feelings) had felt the devastation from Fury when Coulson had died. 

Soon, they were mostly over the Atlantic Ocean, approaching the coast and Tony slid the Iron Man suit on. 

“Jay? You there?” 

"Sir. This suit is compromised. I would recommend repairs before heading out.” 

“Would if I could, JARVIS, but that’s not an option.” He headed out through the walk ways to a section of the ship which had a hole torn in the side, near to engine three. “Loki is using the cube to bring an alien army through to New York.” 

“Understood, sir. I’m close enough to link with the main building.” Tony shot through the air, the water underneath him quickly changing to city as he headed home. 

It wasn’t the worst flight over New York he’d ever had, but having his propulsion fail, however briefly, as he flew was unnerving. “Jay, see if you can kill power.” He suggested as he looked over, hoping Loki wouldn’t be able to draw power from his building. “Maybe if he can’t get the energy he needs…” 

“Sir, I’ve turned off the arc reactor, but the device is already self-sustaining.” Ordinarily, he’d be thrilled at that news, as it meant the whole thing had gone off without any hitches. Unfortunately, it wasn’t what he needed right now. 

“Shut it down, Doctor Selvig.” He commanded as he approached the man, coming down to hover over the rooftop of his own building. 

“It’s too late. She can’t stop now. She wants to show us something: a new universe!” Selvig’s eyes had that bright, unearthly haze to them that he’d seen in the others brainwashed by Loki. 

It was annoying, but he had to remember it wasn’t Selvig’s fault. “Okay.” He blasted both repulsors at the device that had been created using the Tesseract to make a doorway to Earth. However, the energy was deflected back at him, and he shot through the air, relying on his patchwork suit to catch him before he fell. 

“The barrier is pure energy. It’s unbreachable.” JARVIS informed him. 

“Yeah I got that.” He wondered where Steve was. He’d seen the jet heading over the city, but hadn’t seen where they had landed, and either his communications weren’t working, or they weren’t trying to make contact at all. “I’m beat.” 

“Sir, the Mark VII is not ready for deployment.” The AI knew what he was thinking already, but this suit had really had it. He wasn’t confident in the idea of fighting in it, and watching Loki walk across his balcony? Well, he kind of wanted the firepower to take him down. 

“Then skip the spinning rims. We’re on the clock.” He landed, the power cutting out abruptly, and headed inside, the landing pad deconstructing his ruined suit as he strolled inside. 

Loki looked eagerly over at him, clearly pleased to have the attention. “Please tell me you’re going to appeal to my humanity.” And Tony couldn’t help but wonder if Thor and Loki had a younger sibling, because this guy totally had middle-child syndrome; resentful and bitter that he had been ‘overlooked and undervalued’, desperate to be noticed. 

“Uh actually, I’m planning to threaten you.” 

“You should have left your armour on for that.” 

“Yeah. It’s seen a bit of mileage and you’ve got the uh- blue stick of destiny. Would you like a drink?” He headed down to the bar as casually as he could. Thank fuck Steve had left so soon; if he hadn’t fallen into his work like he had, then it was possible these wouldn’t be finished yet… not that they really were, as JARVIS had reminded him; this suit was incomplete and still had issues with communications. 

Loki’s smile was wide and pleased. “Stalling me won’t change anything.” 

“No, no, no- threatening. No drink? You sure? I’m having one.” Though he did hope the others were getting up here. He didn’t have super strength or super speed, regular sentinel abilities or even the ability to subdue someone with his own guide abilities; he had some awareness of other people’s emotions and the ability to go unnoticed when he wanted to, but nothing useful in this situation as Loki was far too aware of him to forget he was here. 

“The Chitauri are coming, nothing will change that. What have I to fear?” Loki asked, and honestly? Counselling. The ability to pay someone to sit and listen to him. That was what Loki needed more than the ability to rule humanity because realistically, humanity was shit at respecting authority that they didn’t like; they stuck their heads in the sand and refused to listen to anything they didn’t want to hear. Loki was setting himself up for disappointment. 

Still, humanity did have one trump card. “The Avengers.” Loki turned around to give him a puzzled look. Maybe Barton hadn’t gotten round to explaining this bit to him, that they had a team name and everything. “It’s what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. ‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ type of thing.” 

“Yes. I’ve met them.” His smile really was unsettling. 

“Yeah. Takes us a while to get any traction, I’ll give you that one. But, let’s do a head count here: Your brother, the demi-god…” At the mention of Thor, Loki turned away, his lip curling. Tony used the distraction to slide his bracelets on. “…A super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you’ve managed to piss off every single one of them.” His sipped his drink, barely letting the alcohol touch his tongue. 

“That was the plan.” 

“Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they’ll come for you.” Because there was not a chance any of them would let Loki get away with his plan. He wasn’t sure exactly how this was going to go down, but he was confident that the chips would fall in their favour. 

“I have an army." 

“We have a Hulk.” He retorted, confident that the Avengers would win. Between himself, Steve, Bruce, Natasha and Barton, they could probably take him down, but with Thor as well? The older brother whose shadow Loki always felt dwarfed by? They’d get through this. 

“I thought the beast had wandered off.” 

"Yeah, you’re missing the point. There’s no throne, there is no version of this, where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it’s too much for us, but it’s all on you.” Bracelets secure and ready to call the Mark VII, Tony headed into the main area. “Cos if we can’t protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we’ll avenge it.” They may well lose to the army, but one way or the other, Loki was going down. 

Like a child who had been told ‘no’, Loki glowered as he approached him. “How will your friends have time for me, when they’re so busy fighting you?” The sceptre hit the arc reactor, and although Tony could feel a shift in the air, nothing happened. “This usually works.” He twisted his wrists meaningfully, waiting for the armour to deploy. 

"Well, performance issues. It’s not uncommon.” He joked lightly, hoping Steve could feel the panic that was bubbling below the surface and was moving his fine ass in their direction. “One out of five – oof!” 

Loki grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the ground. 

“JARVIS, any time now.” 

Loki stormed over again and pulled Tony up, a cool hand wrapped around his neck. “You will all fall before me.” 

“Deploy.” He called, wishing he’d spent more time checking this particular function. “Deploy.” 

Well, shit. Loki threw him out the window. 

The air rushing passed his face was far more terrifying than when he fell already inside the armour, and he didn’t relax until the bracelets beeped and the armour wrapped around him, safer than a mother’s embrace. 

He fired his thrusters before hitting the sidewalk and blasted his way back up to the balcony. 

“And there’s one other person you pissed off. His name was Phil.” He snarled, firing his repulsor and knocking Loki off his feet. 

A moment later, a blue beam shot from the roof of his tower into the sky, and just as the tractor beam so many alien abduction movies sucked people towards the source, this split the sky and the waiting alien army were pulled into the Earth’s atmosphere. 

“Right.” He murmured as his visuals turned red to indicate hostiles. “Army.” 

Deciding they were a more immediate threat than Loki, who was groaning as he lay on his back, Tony moved to intercept the first wave. The Chitauri army was fast, and they were flowing down in a stream, not faltering on their path to the surface even when Tony knocked into one of them. He fired at them again and again, dodging the aliens and bits debris as he tried to figure out a way to gain the advantage. 

Their attacks were blasting things on the surface, cars and buildings… He could see the movement of terrified people whenever he glanced down. 

" _Stark, we’re on your three, headed North-East._ ” Natasha’s voice called as he saw the jet approaching his tower. 

“What? Did you stop for drive-through?” He asked, but the spare chunk of his attention had gone to the flood of Steve’s feelings he could feel along their bond now that the super soldier was in close enough range for their young bon to share. “Swing up Park. I’m gonna lay ‘em out for you.” 

He looped around his tower sharply and headed towards Central Park. He grinned as he heard the assassins begin to fire on the aliens, but it was quickly wiped out by JARVIS. 

“Sir, we have more incoming.” The AI informed him. 

Tony turned and headed in the opposite direction. “Fine. Let’s keep them occupied.” 

He rocketed passed the Baxter building, where he could see an orange rock-man leaping from one Chitauri to another, knocking them out as he went. He could feel pulses of adrenaline coming from Steve as the man apparently got rattled around, but Tony couldn’t do anything to stop the jet from going down. He about-faced, intending to head back towards Central Park and towards the busier sections of midtown to try and protect anyone still there but he froze as a flying monster climbed up the drain and out the hole at the top, but despite emerging from what looked visually like a glowing sink, this was no itsy-bitsy spider; it was an enormous space whale with more of the Chitauri riding it, like some kind of vehicle they had hitched a ride on, like the warriors riding Oliphaunts in the Lord of the Rings. 

“ _Stark? You seeing this?_ ” Steve commed up, the mixture of wonder and trepidation that Tony could feel along their bond was evident in his voice. 

“Seeing. Still working on believing.” He’d never been a fan of the horror genre, but he didn’t think anything could compare to this. “Where’s Banner? Has he shown up yet?” 

“ _Banner?_ ” 

“Just keep me posted.” Bruce would definitely turn up; his fear of hurting anyone wouldn’t keep him away when they were this desperate, but Tony hadn’t forgotten what he had said about being exposed; he wanted to know when he got here so he could give the other guy an extra layer of cover in the form of back-up. 

Flying alongside the living leviathan, he began looking for any advantage he could find. “JARVIS, find me a soft spot.” 

“It seems the shell covers most of its body, sir.” JARVIS replied as over the comms, Steve could be heard giving orders confidently. 

“Most of?” He shot down some more Chitauri warriors as he kept pace with the beast. 

“There are several softer spots, sir. However, these are only appear to be softer in comparison with the rest of its body. It will still take considerable firepower to bring it down.” JARVIS’s calm voice help settle his pounding nerves slightly as he quickly formed a plan. 

“Steve’s down that way, trying to evacuate people so we need to move this elsewhere.” Because Steve would have dropped himself in where the most people were in an attempt to save as many of them as possible. 

“You need a plan to take this on, sir.” Was that a hint of concern in JARVIS’s voice? 

“I have a plan. It’s got a bunch of parts to it and everything. A complex plan.” He assured him before looping around a building to fire into the leviathan’s face, the volley of ammunition doing little real damage, but effectively capturing its attention. “Well we got its attention. What the hell was step two?” he added, unable to resist baiting the AI. 

But he didn’t hang around while waiting for an answer. He turned around and flew off, dodging around buildings in an attempt to slow the beast down. 

“ _What’s the situation upstairs?_ ” Tony heard Steve ask as he blasted one of the Chitauri out of the sky. 

“ _The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable._ ” Thor replied, which was an unfortunate truth. 

“Thor’s right.” He piped up. “We got to deal with these guys.” 

“ _How do we do this?_ ” Natasha asked, and Tony realised they must have regrouped in the streets. 

Steve answered instantly “ _As a team_.” 

“ _I have unfinished business with Loki._ ” Thor informed them, as though anyone had forgotten the stroppy man-child. 

“ _Yeah well get in line_.” Barton muttered as Steve interrupted. “ _Save it. Loki’s gonna keep the fight focussed on us and that’s what we need. Without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he’s gonna need us to-_ ” Then his sentinel stopped talking. 

“ _I’ve seen worse._ ” Natasha said, clearly speaking to someone without an earpiece in. “ _No, we could use a little worse._ ” 

As he fired off another volley of small rockets back at the beast, Tony grinned. Bruce must have turned up. 

“ _Stark? We got him_.” Steve confirmed his suspicion. 

“Banner?” 

“ _Just like you said_.” 

“Then tell him to suit up. I’m bringing the party to you.” He took a wider curve around several buildings this time, trying to leave some undamaged as he headed back to the others. If Banner was there too, then he was happy to buy into Steve’s notion that they could do this as a team. 

“ _I… I don’t see how that’s a party._ ” Natasha objected as the leviathan smashed through several more buildings despite Tony’s efforts to give it a better turning circle. 

“ _Doctor Banner._ ” Steve addressed Bruce as Tony flew towards them. “ _Now might be a really good time for you to get angry_.” 

And Tony was genuinely impressed when the Hulk smashed a fist into the leviathan’s face and stopped its forward motion. The whole thing flipped over itself, ass over teakettle, and he took the chance to fire at the weaker spots in its shell. The resulting explosion nearly knocked him out the air, but he caught himself as the beast went down, coming to land beside Steve and the Hulk. 

“Guys.” Natasha called as JARVIS flashed a red warning to alert Tony to the next threat; yet more of the beasts flying through when it had taken an effort to bring down one. 

“Call it, Captain.” He suggested to Steve, aware that this was going to need to be co-ordinated. 

Steve stepped forwards. “All right, listen up.” The confidence that came along their bond was stronger than the trepidation, and that gave Tony hope that they could do this. “Until we can close that portal up there, our main priority is containment. Barton, I want you on that roof; eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter; anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash.” 

“Can you give me a lift?” Barton asked as Steve checked they were good to go. 

“Right. Better clench up Legolas.” 

He blasted off, gripping the harness to bring Barton with him. He didn’t have any kind of hand holes in his suit as he’d never really worked as part of a team before, at least not to this extent. That time helping out Reed Richards didn’t count and he had only needed to carry the man because his boyfriend had to set himself on fire to fly. 

Dropping the archer on top of a building, he powered after a bunch of strays towards the acceptable perimeter. He shot over to them, firing his repulsors and taking two down and catching the attention of several more. Spinning around, he changed direction and went to collect a few more that were causing trouble down near street level. 

“ _Stark, you got a lot of strays sniffing your tail._ ” Barton pointed out, making him grin slightly. 

“Just trying to keep them off the streets.” He explained lightly, checking to see if there were many more dotted around. 

“ _Well, they can’t bank worth a damn, so find a tight corner_.” Barton suggested, and Tony supposed that he could pick these details up from his vantage point. 

“I will roger that.” He replied checking to see where was best to take it; somewhere already badly damaged to try and contain the destruction was preferable. 

He flew passed Barton’s building, watching in his monitor as Barton took down several of the Chitauri’s flying crafts. He used his knowledge of the area and JARVIS’s quick hints to fly through alleys and tunnels, forcing the enemy to either keep up, stop or crash. Most of them followed until they took themselves down and Barton got the rest. 

“Nice call. What else you got?” 

“ _Well, Thor’s taking out a squadron down on sixth_.” Barton informed him. 

It sounded like a good place to go. “And he didn’t invite me.” Tony flew off to meet the alien. 

Because as harsh as it sounded, Tony didn’t want to fight alongside Steve just yet; not until he absolutely had to. He tended to get protective over his friends (Rhodey had taken him to one side a long time ago to tell him where he could and could not interfere) so he wasn’t sure how he would react to his bondmate being in danger so close by. 

He flew higher up to keep a watch on the perimeter, only needing to stop a handful of Chitauri on his way to Thor, who was steadily working his way through the large group surrounding him. 

“Behind you, big guy.” He called out as he took down one warrior who had been trying to get behind the thunder wielding alien. 

“Stark. You are still keeping to your own quest?” Thor checked as he smashed a guy in the face with his hammer, sending him flying. 

“Got it covered.” He assured him as he spun about and fired his repulsors at two different targets, taking both of them down. 

Thor grinned as he thrust his hammer into the air and called the lightning to it. “Then I welcome your company.” He took down half a dozen of the bastards in one go. 

“ _Captain, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don’t close that portal._ ” Natasha sounded tired as her voice came over the comms. 

“ _Our biggest guns couldn’t touch it._ ” Steve pointed out, and though he sounded fine over the ear piece, he was decidedly frustrated along their bond. 

“ _Maybe it’s not about guns._ ” Natasha said as Tony used the forward momentum of one Chitauri flying craft to swing it around and crash it into another. 

“ _You wanna get up there, you’re gonna need a ride._ ” And the engineer wondered if Steve needed him to head over. 

But Natasha debunked that idea. “ _I got a ride. I could use a boost though_.” Tony shot upwards and several of the fliers took off after him. 

“ _You sure about this?_ ” 

“ _Yeah. It’s gonna be fun._ ” 

Tony spotted several more stragglers getting close to the perimeter and blasted over to them, his own sheep following after. 

He lead them on a merry chase, through tunnels and around sharp bends again as he listened carefully to his comms, unable to fully suppress the concern about his team mates. He blasted through the streets towards Steve when he spotted him fighting, landing long enough to bounce his repulsors off Steve’s shield, the vibranium amplifying the energy to take the enemy down quickly, but he shot back up into the sky when he saw several Chitauri flying towards Barton’s position. 

“ _Captain, the bank on 42nd, past Madison. They cornered a lot of civilians in there_.” The archer spoke up as two of Tony’s followers crashed into the pavement, unable to pull up nimbly enough. 

“ _I’m on it._ ” Steve responded as Tony turned and took another warrior out with his repulsors. 

The pack he’d collected was growing again as they weaved through the streets, so he tried out the wronski feint movement a second time flying straight towards the ground and only pulling up at the very last moment; it was satisfying to see so many of the warriors crash into the ground. 

“ _Doctor._ ” He heard Natasha say as she had apparently made it up to Selvig. “ _It’s not your fault. You didn’t know what you were doing._ ” 

That was interesting, Tony mused as he landed long enough to pick off the rest of his stragglers with his repulsors. Did the sceptre lose effect if it was away from those it had brainwashed for too long? 

“ _Loki’s sceptre._ ” She murmured, sounding hopeful, and while Tony couldn’t hear Selvig’s end of the conversation as he wasn’t wearing an earpiece, he hoped the man had said something along the lines of ‘There is a way to close the portal’ because that was what they really needed right now. 

As he headed up, he spotted another one of the space whales and he headed after it. 

“Sir, we will lose power before we penetrate the shell.” JARVIS reminded him as he tried slicing it with his laser. 

“Shit.” He swore under his breath as he increased his thrusters to fly away from the beast. “None of my attacks can get through it.” He began to loop around a building to move in front of it. “JARVIS, you ever hear the tale of Jonah?” 

It was a crazy idea, but hopefully he’d be safe inside his suit as he reached the softer tissue. 

“I… wouldn’t consider him a role model.” JARVIS sounded nervous, as he sometimes did when Tony was about to do something truly idiotic… or in this case heroic – he hoped. 

He opened the knee plates and had the blades slide out as he planned to do as much damage as possible with this attack, then he flew straight down the leviathan’s gullet, allowing JARVIS to keep him on track as he released his missiles and twisted his arms enough to fire his repulsors. 

He blasted out the beast and smashed through a bus shelter, into a taxi and then, as he staggered up, into a sign and back onto the sidewalk as numerous Chitauri shot him back down. 

“They never end.” He gasped as he rolled over. 

“ _Stark? You hear me?_ ” Fury’s urgent voice came over the comm. “ _You have a missile headed straight for the city_.” 

He pulled himself up, checking the integrity of his suit. “How long?” 

“ _Three minutes, max_.” A warrior managed to knock the guide back down again; he was exhausted. “ _The payload will wipe out midtown._ ” 

Shit. “JARVIS, put everything we got into the thrusters!” He commanded as he fired at several more aliens, trying to clear enough space to take off without them hanging onto him. 

“I just did.” 

He got off the ground, and one of them gripped his boot for a moment before the heat made it fall away. 

" _You ready for another bout?_ ” He heard Thor ask someone as he located the missile and headed towards it.

“ _What? You getting sleepy?_ ” Steve sounded winded and there was pain coming along their bond, though it was lessening as Tony increased their distance.

“ _I can close it. Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down!_ ” Natasha called out, which was honestly a relief to hear.

“ _Do it_.” Steve instructed, but Tony knew he had something to do first.

“No, wait.”

“ _Stark, these things are still coming._ ” Steve pointed out, which meant Fury hadn’t shared the missile thing with the whole team.

“I’ve got a nuke coming in. It’s gonna blow in less than a minute.” He passed the Verrazano Bridge, thrusting back up and over to reach the missile. “And I know just where to put it.”

He grabbed hold of it, resting it on his back and began to gently angle it upwards, aiming for the portal.

“ _Stark, you know that’s a one way trip_.” Steve said gently, and Tony could feel his concern pulsing. 

“Save the rest for the turn, Jay.” He said softly, knowing he didn’t want to waste all his energy too soon.

“Sir, shall I try Miss Potts?”

He considered it for a moment. “No. Call Steve privately.” The call connected, the box lighting up to the side of his screen. “Steve…”

“ _Tony! Are you okay?_ ” He heard Steve grunt, then gasp deeply and quietly thank Thor. 

“Suits a little battered.” He admitted. “But it’ll get the missile through the hole.”

“ _Tony…_ ”

“Hey Steve? You want to move back in with me? You know, assuming we all come out of this alive?” He blurted out as he increased his incline.

“ _In the tower? I thought you’d always lived alone. You sure having someone else there won’t be a bother?_ ”

Was that why Steve had moved out in the first place? He should have called sooner. “I trust you.” He informed him, now confident in the knowledge that this was true. “I want you there.”

He added thrusters as he approached his tower to begin a vertical climb.

“ _Then yes. Where I am now is… Very different from your tower. I got a radio and books, but I don’t have a computer and I can’t ask JARVIS about stuff, so it’s hard to find out about the future… I mean, the present_.”

“You don’t even have…? Really?” Was SHIELD afraid of scarring him or something? How was the guy supposed to get used to the modern age if they didn’t let him experience it. “You move in and I’ll teach you how to use everything, or you can ask JARVIS. I bet you’ll get the hang of it in no time.” He blasted through the portal, emerging in space.

“ _Thanks, Tony._ ” The comm line crackled. “ _T-ny? –re you th-_ ”

The darkness wasn’t quite never ending as he flew into it; he could see a shape…

He gasped as his bond was strained beyond anything he’d ever imagined and, as he let go of the missile and watched it destroy whatever was waiting in the darkness, his mind went hazy with the agonising pain. 

He whimpered, unable to focus on anything as his suit powered down, finally failing out in the middle of nowhere, while he was helpless; in too much pain to think.

As he fell and his eyes started to adjust as he tumbled away from the explosion, he noticed the vastness of space; a phrase he’d heard before but never truly appreciated. He’d blown up the only solid thing out here; there was nothing else. There were stars and nebulas, an array of colours off to one side and stars that didn’t twinkle because there was no atmosphere and far less distance…

There was no solid ground…

He passed out as blue light surrounded him.

\------

“Captain?” There was a warm hand resting on his head, and Steve’s eyes fluttered open as his body shook with shock and residual pain.

Thor was crouched over him and looking up, Steve could see that portal had closed. “What?” He croaked, allowing the alien prince to pull him up.

“Stark.” Thor said, pointing over to where the Hulk stood on the sidewalk, crouching over the Iron Man armour.

“Tony!” He yelped, jogging over and crouching beside him.

Thor pulled the face plate off and Steve leaned over to check he was breathing. Their bond was raw and painful as it had apparently struggled with the vast distance, but the puff of Tony’s breath against his ear was a relief. 

It was the Hulk’s roar that jolted Tony back to the land of waking. “What the hell? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me.” He babbled as he looked around, unmoving as the suit must have ran out of juice.

Steve chuckled slightly. “We won.” He nodded to the fallen bodies of the Chitauri that surrounded them, which he had seen falling as he himself had lost consciousness from the pain.

“Oh.” Tony sighed. “Alright. Yay. Hurray. Good job, guys.” He sounded even more exhausted than Steve, who honestly just wanted to go to sleep despite having one foe left to capture. “Let’s just not come in tomorrow. Let’s just take a day. You ever tried shawarma? There’s a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don’t know what it is, but I wanna try it.”

“We’re not finished yet.” Thor pointed out, though his tone was gentler than it had been so far when talking to Tony. But Steve supposed the alien would not forget about his brother, despite everything else that was happening.

“And then shawarma after?” Tony asked as Steve helped push him into a sitting position as the armour seemed to be too heavy for Tony to move on his own.

“If anyone is around to make us food, then I’ll be there.” He assured him, though he was currently more tired than hungry. “Can you get up to your tower?”

“My suit just needs a jumpstart.” Tony said, his head hanging down as he clearly fought a yawn. “How delicate can you be with that thing?” He added to Thor, looking curiously at the lightning hammer.

“There isn’t much call for delicacy, but it can be done.” Thor assured them. “Where is best to strike you?” 

“Not on the actual chest piece cos I’m not sure it’s up to any rapid influx.” Tony nodded down. “Just aim for the shoulder. The whole suit is designed to absorb lightning, but the actual shoulder joint seems to be the most intact.”

“Aye.” Thor nodded, lifting his hammer and wincing before he even tried tapping Tony’s shoulder.

Steve took his hand off his guide’s back, but didn’t move back as the electricity visibly shot over the surface of the suit and the blue glow of the arc reactor spluttered back into existence.

With a deep sigh of utter relief, Steve stood up and held a hand out to Tony, hiding his own wince as his wounded body throbbed all over; he felt sore everywhere.

“Where’re the others?” Tony asked as the Hulk began to climb the outside of the building and Thor swung his hammer and flew up.

“Natasha is on the roof of your building. Clint is up on that building.” But as he pointed, Thor landed on the building.

“Need a lift?” Tony raised an eyebrow, holding out an arm.

“Can your suit handle it?” He checked, not wanting to give it any unnecessary strain.

His guide nodded. “I have flight and my repulsors seem to be working, but I’m not sure about anything else.”

“How do I do this?” He asked, unsure of how to receive a lift.

“Arms around my neck and stand on the boots. I want to be able to use both arms if I need to and I haven’t designed any grips for people to hold onto with this one.”

“Already planning your next suit?” Steve grinned as he pressed up close to Tony and looped his arms around his neck, checking he had a secure grip.

“That needs to be a plural. It’s good to have new ideas in advance of when I need them.” Tony lifted off slowly, as though checking Steve was steady before his boots took over the bulk of the thrusting and an arm circled Steve’s waist.

Once inside, the group gathered as Steve sent a message to Fury to update him. Loki let out a groan as he regained consciousness. 

“If it’s all the same to you, I’ll have that drink now.” The alien said heavily as he lifted his eyes to meet his brother’s gaze.

“All right, get him on his feet.” Tony grinned over at Steve, his expression lightening slightly. “We can all stand around posing up a storm later.” The engineer turned and began to head off, one hand moving to the edge of his chest plate before he turned back. “By the way, feel free to clean up.” 

“Who gets the, uh… magic wand?” Natasha asked as Tony disappeared into his bedroom and Steve stepped over to the sink to wash his hands and his face.

“STRIKE team’s coming up to secure it.” The super soldier explained, as he heard the elevator open and Rumlow and Sitwell led several men through to secure the sceptre.

“We can take that off your hands.” Sitwell said as he approached Natasha as Clint stepped over to the bar.

“By all means.” She said, handing it over and joining Clint. “Be careful with that thing.”

“Yeah, unless you want your mind erased.” Clint added. “And not in the fun way.” 

As Rumlow and Sitwell secured the sceptre with a promise to be careful, Steve looked over at Clint; the archer felt exhausted, as all the Avengers did, but the guilt that had drowned him back on the helicarrier had seeped away. He’d have to remember to keep an eye out in case it came back later on.

As Tony came back out, once again in the Black Sabbath top he had been wearing on the helicarrier, Fury contacted him to sort out search and rescue initially with the police who would help organise the chaos on the streets as everyone panicked about where their loved ones had gone in the attack. The Director also told him that he might have to read a short notice for a news camera to assure people that things were calming down and what to do if they couldn’t find someone, but he was sending someone over to write something rather than having him make something up when he was still dog-tired.

“On my way down to co-ordinate search and rescue.” He assured him, saying the words aloud to let the others know where he was going.

“You okay?” Tony asked, resting a hand on his shoulder as they both ignored Loki’s mocking of Steve.

“You find somewhere for us all to eat so I can get some sleep. Then I’ll be happy.” He tried to give the man a smile, but it felt pitiful as all his remaining energy was going to looking strong for everyone else.

“Half an hour. I’ll find somewhere in half an hour and we can go out.”

But it was nearly an hour later, while he was talking to Officer Harrison that Tony contacted him to say they were going for shawarma. He checked that everyone knew what they were doing before heading out, leaning heavily against the side of the elevator for the short ride.

He knew the serum sapped his energy to heal him quickly, but that was how he knew he needed sleep; he could still feel the deeper wounds as his body struggled to heal while he was running around with nothing in his system.

“Lift?” Tony asked making Steve jump as he staggered out. 

“Please.” 

He dropped into the passenger seat of Tony’s car and instantly struggled to keep his eyes open. “Everyone comin’?” He slurred slightly as he tried to make conversation.

“Yeah. Not sure where Thor’s putting Loki but…” Tony trailed off without finishing his thought, but Steve didn’t mind. 

“’Kay.”

By the time they were seated and the food arrived, Steve had lost the battle to keep his eyes open. He was pretty sure he was still awake, but the effort involved in opening his eyes was too great.

“Come on.” Tony murmured to him, sometime later, wrapping an arm around his waist and half carrying him back to the car. 

“’m ‘wake.” He informed him, managing to open his eyes enough to see where he was putting his feet, but he didn’t notice anything from sitting in the car to waking up in the morning, with JARVIS informing him that Tony was awake and he had slept for nearly fifteen hours.

He walked into the kitchen feeling a good deal better than he had earlier on. 

“Thor’s heading back to Asgard.” Tony explained as he handed over a mug of coffee. “But we decided yesterday that we’d go say goodbye.”

Steve had no memory of that conversation and, judging by the wide smile, Tony was aware of that.

“He taking the cube too?”

“Yeah. We had some higher-ups take issue with it yesterday, but it’s hard to argue with the god of thunder.” Tony shrugged as he buttered some toast.

“They can probably hold him better than we could, if they can use magic too.” Steve figured as he sat down. “When do we need to be there?”

“About twenty minutes. You have time for your coffee then we should go.”

“My bike still here?” He asked, wanting to go for a ride; he felt like he’d been stuck in the city constantly since waking in this century and he just wanted to head out for a while and clear his mind.

“Yeah. I’ve got some clothes for you too.” Tony replied as though it was no big deal, and Steve had to remind himself that that was the case. He and Bucky may have struggled to get enough money to eat three meals a day, pay rent and buy other bits and pieces, but Tony was like Howard; enough money that he didn’t need to worry and enough generosity to share with his friends.

When he arrived at Central Park, Steve smiled to see the others arriving too. Bruce was carrying a case that held the Tesseract as he scrambled out of Tony’s car.

“How’d your search and rescue going?” Tony asked as he headed over to Steve’s side. “Did you get in contact with anyone about it?”

“Nah. Said my bit for the camera and left it to the police.” Which was enough. He wasn’t sure what else Fury had wanted him to do, but he hadn’t been in contact so Steve assumed that he had done enough. The only thing the Director had wanted to say was that he had an appointment with a therapist to talk about everything that had happened; Steve wasn’t entirely sure why he needed to talk to someone, but if he had to go then he would at least turn up and say something to this person.

Bruce transferred the cube into a cylinder and handed it over to Thor, who grasped one end and held the other out to Loki. 

“I will return.” He assured them softly, meeting each person’s gaze before turning to look at his brother, who was muzzled. “Alone.”

They disappeared and Steve turned to look at Tony.

“You’re coming back to tower, right?” the older man asked as they shook hands. “Once you’ve been out for a ride?”

Tony looked a little anxious, and Steve knew that they needed to spend some time together to help settle both their nerves and their bond; Tony’s trip into space was not easy to forget, nor the pain and the loneliness that had come from that distance.

“I’ll be there.” He assured him, before nodding to Bruce and stepping over to Clint and Natasha. “You two back off to Fury?”

“I think I’ll feel better once I’m back into my routine of working and planning and training.” Clint said simply, and Steve nodded.

“Good luck. I’ll see you around.”

He headed over to his bike and sat down in the saddle. He had a day to himself, no definite plan until he had to meet this therapist tomorrow afternoon.

It was a nice feeling.

\------

“Well. Perhaps we had best start with how you’d like me to address you.” The woman smiled gently at him, everything about her seemed to invite trust; from her warm, crinkled eyes and her messy bun of greying hair to her plump figure and relaxed posture, she had a motherly warmth about her that seeped into the air. Steve kind of wanted to ask if she was a guide with the way he felt influenced about her before he’d even had a chance to speak to her, but he’d already made a number of mistakes with raising topics that were now taboo, or finding himself close-lipped about things that people in this age freely chatted about. He wasn’t sure if this was an acceptable topic and he didn’t want to keep getting it wrong.

“I don’t mind.” He replied with a slightly shrug, trying to relax into his chair as he gazed around at the pictures on the wall. 

“Captain Rogers? Mr Rogers? Steven? Steve?” He repressed a shiver at being called Mr Rogers; it reminded him of his schoolmaster from the days he’d been well enough to attend. Doctor Foster gave him a moment but when he didn’t say anything she glanced around to see what he was looking and she smiled again. “It’s quite a mix, I know, but those ones are pictures that my grandchildren made for me. I know they don’t match the prints of actual works of art I have up too, but I like to see them during the day.”

Steve couldn’t help smiling back at her; his Ma had put his pictures up at home, said it helped brighten the place up, and had refused to let him take them down, even as he got older and improved at what he was drawing. They’d never been able to afford any kind of good art, but she always said that his pictures were made with love and that made them priceless. 

“The picture of the man? I think I’ve seen it before.” Or a picture of it, he supposed because he could remember it in black and white; the man standing on a bridge with his hands up to his face, his mouth open.

“The Scream by Edvard Munch.” She nodded, her expression still warm, even as her smile faded. “Or I think it’s called Shriek originally. Do you know anything about it?”

“He looks upset.” Steve murmured, as he took in the swirls of paint.

“Yes. There are different theories about what he is upset by. Some assume the red in the background is a volcano and his fear is a very simple type. Others say that it was painted in a location near to where his sister was housed in a lunatic asylum and this is almost a self-portrait of his own struggle. Many people claim it shows the anxiety of modern man.”

“Did he ever explain which it was?”

“Not that I know of, but you could always look into the different meanings. The files sent over from SHIELD suggest you try to acclimatise yourself to the modern world, and I think that exploring something you are interested in is a good way to do that. You can go to the library and either find some books or use the internet on the computers they have there to have a look.”

“There are still libraries?” Steve asked, a bolt of relief thundering through him at her words. “With proper books?”

“Oh yes, Steven.” She was smiling again, her hands resting on her lap as she leaned back in her chair. “People like to use computers for a lot of stuff these days, but people are slow to switch from the feel of a book in their hands to reading their novels from a computer screen. And a lot of reference books and text books are still at the library because they are expensive to buy and once they have been used for assignments or general research, they aren’t always used again so it’s easier to borrow from a library than buying something that will sit mostly unused.”

He’d gone from several nights in Tony’s super modern home where he had an AI running everything to an apartment set up by SHIELD, where he had a record player but not even a television. Weirdly enough, even the lighting made it feel old in comparison to Stark Tower, which was lit up with brightly, both inside and out; his SHIELD flat seemed dingy in comparison. He wouldn’t have minded staying with Tony as the man was his true guide and a good guy, but SHIELD had suggested that distance was better for him, so that he didn’t end up too dependent on an already busy man.

So he had gone back to his quiet apartment, scowled at the _radio_ (no one called it a wireless anymore) as it didn’t have any of the programmes he’d wanted to listen to, then sat with a novel in his hand on the couch and stared at the wall for a long time, listening to every sound he could hear in the apartment block without enhancing his senses too much.

It had been quiet. It had been boring, and it had been lonely.

He missed his team, his old team. From Gabe’s sly jokes to Jim’s blunt nature to Dum Dum’s impenetrable poker face to the line of warmth at his side when Bucky used to sit right next to him and press close. 

Thinking about them in an office well-lit by natural light was less overwhelming, but it still hurt. In the silence that Doctor Foster was letting continue, he turned his attention back to the painting of the screaming man as he considered the idea of the artist being separated from someone he loved. 

The screaming man could be, like Steve, someone who was just going to have to cope with the modern world on his own, the comfort he wanted inaccessible. 

But he supposed there could be another screaming man out of shot of the painting, another distressed figure that was the artist’s sister, locked in a place where everything seemed strange and frightening, trapped from the familiar outside world… Maybe he was the sister, locked away by the ice and now forced into a new age, and the screaming man was Howard and Peggy and the Commandos, forced to continue on without him.

“Can I use the internet to find out what happened to the people I knew?” He asked Doctor Foster, who had been unobtrusively watching his study of the painting. “Tony said that you can use the internet to find anything if you know how to look, so…”

“It depends what you are trying to find. A lot of modern stuff does go onto a computer, though it’s not always uploaded to the internet. Older records though, it depends on where they lived and what they were doing.” 

“Huh….” He shifted enough to stare out the window at the blue sky dotted with soft, white clouds.

“Maybe don’t search out for them on your own though.” Dr Foster suggested after another few moments. “I’m sure Mr Stark would find the time to search with you. It may be good to have that support there in case things become overwhelming.”

“I’ll think about it.” He assured her.

The end of the session was general chit-chat, not his strongest suit but it was relaxing nonetheless. 

When he got outside, Tony and Happy were waiting for him in the car park, his guide wearing a pair of sunglasses as he leaned against the hood of his car. “All done?” The man called out as Steve approached him. 

“Yeah. Fury said I need to see her once a month and at least have a conversation with her once a week.”

“What did she say?” Tony swung into the backseat and Steve followed.

“That we should talk on the phone, but it doesn’t have to be a deep and probing conversation unless that’s what I want. And that I can _email_ in between times if I need to.” The whole computer thing had brought about a subsection of the English language that Steve wasn’t familiar with, it was a little daunting, but he was going to try and get on top of it.

“Huh. Sounds as though you like her.”

“She reminds me of Ma Barnes, Bucky’s mom.” They had the same smile, and the same demeanour that encouraged confidence.

Tony was quiet for a moment. “Huh. My last therapist reminded me of Doris Day; kind of annoying and she always looked like she was about to burst into song.”

Steve sat up. “I’ve heard of her. She had a song, Sentimental Journey, which was real good.” 

Tony looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. “You liked her? Well, I guess you did miss her whole film career.”

“Is… she still alive?” He asked uncertainly, not sure if he actually wanted the answer.

“Sure is. I think she’s, you know, nearly ninety now though.”

“Oh yeah.” That was still hard to get his head around; everyone being old or dead.

“You hungry? I think we should go for food.” Tony suddenly said as he shifted in his seat.

“I… guess?” He wasn’t really, but he’d eat if Tony wanted to.

“Nice, cheap food, covered in grease and altogether unhealthy.” The older man decided as Happy nodded and indicated a turn.

“So, you want to stay in the room you had last time? Or do you want somewhere else?” Tony asked as they pulled up outside the little window, joining the queue of cars to wait to talk to the young woman waiting there. “Steve?”

“Huh?” He pulled his eyes away from in front of the car to stare into Tony’s amused face. “Just… don’t you go inside to get food now? Or is it like getting something from a stand?”

“Fast food? The food is pretty standard so they have loads made up already. Means you don’t have to wait half an hour for it to get cooked.” The older man shifted, his brown eyes warm as he watched Steve fight to get his expression under control. “You still haven’t answered my question. Where in the tower do you want to stay? Assuming we go back there while it gets repaired.”

“The room I was in last time was fine.” He assured the man as the car began to move slowly along and Happy leaned up and out the window to place his order.

The inventor ran a hand through his hair with a sigh as Happy grabbed the small card which had electronic money on it and held it against the device that took the money off it. “I mean, if you want your own space then that’s fine. Last time I wasn’t expecting guests so I didn’t have any other rooms made up, but I’ve changed the two floors underneath mine into a living space for the Avengers so you could have more space there. I’m working on convincing everyone to move in.”

“But if you are happy to stay in Tony’s penthouse, you’ll have easy access to his workshop.” Happy called back, and Steve felt Tony’s amusement over their bond as they both looked over to him. “That way you can make him eat and sleep when he’s been working for seventy two hours straight.”

“I can fire you. Don’t think I won’t.”

“And yet you aren’t denying his point.” Steve teased, starting to feel more comfortable as Happy grinned at him through the rear view mirror.

Tony crossed his arms over his chest, visibly fighting to keep a straight face. “And now there are two of you for nagging? No. I’ve changed my mind, you can’t stay on my floor anymore. In fact, I think I’ll just hand both of you over to Fury.”

“You’re gonna make me stay with people I barely know?” Steve tried to give Tony a pathetic look, but Happy’s chuckles from the front made it difficult to look serious.

“I’ll think about it.” Tony stated as he leaned forwards to take the bag of warm food from Happy. “Here this one is yours.”

“Thanks.” The burger had an odd flavour to it, but it was warm, covered in cheese and a gift from his guide, so Steve quickly devoured it. 

“On the note of you moving in.” Tony began as he handed over another burger. “I’ve get some stuff to do in Malibu next week, so you should come along.” 

Steve sighed and sent Tony a wry grin as he recalled the request that the older man had made as he’d flown towards the portal. 

“I’ll let Director Fury know I’m not in New York for a bit.”

And he laughed at the fist pump Tony performed in response.


End file.
